Storm Agatha kills at least 16 in Central America

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - The remnants of Tropical Storm Agatha dumped more rain on Guatemala and El Salvador on Sunday after killing at least 16 people in the region.

Rescue workers scrambled to restore communications to towns and villages cut off by landslides when Agatha, the first named storm of the 2010 Pacific hurricane season, slammed into the Guatemalan coast near the border with Mexico on Saturday.

The storm dissipated overnight as it crossed the western mountains of Guatemala but emergency workers warned residents to expect heavy rain for several more days.

Rivers swollen by torrential rains burst their banks and mudslides buried homes in towns and cities alike. The intense rainfall has sparked concern over the state of the coffee crop in Guatemala, the region's biggest producer.

More than 3 feet (1 meter) of rain fell in parts of Guatemala, according to President Alvaro Colom.

"Many places are cut off but it appears the weather will improve a bit today and we will be able to airlift supplies to those places. The road network is badly damaged," Colom said at a press conference.

Guatemalan authorities reported 13 people confirmed dead and at least 24 missing. More than 74,000 people were forced to flee their homes.

Three people were killed in neighboring El Salvador and 5,000 were in shelters, emergency officials said.

Central America is vulnerable to heavy rains due to mountainous terrain and poor communications in rural areas. Last November's Hurricane Ida caused flooding and mudslides that killed at least 150 people as it moved past the region.

Guatemalan officials warned the flooding from the storm could be worsened by ash spewing out of the Pacaya volcano south of the capital that has blocked drainage systems.

The volcano, which erupted on Thursday, had already closed the country's main international airport and aviation officials do not expect to finish cleaning ash and debris off the tarmac until at least Tuesday.

The volcano remained active on Sunday but the intensity of the eruption appeared to be diminishing, civil defense officials said.

Pacaya has been active since the 1960s but had not ejected rocks and ash since 1998.

The volcano, located 25 miles south of Guatemala City, is close to some of Guatemala's most prized coffee plantations.

The national coffee association, Anacafe, was struggling to determine the extent of the damage to the country's crop due to poor communications, an Anacafe spokeswoman said.

(Additional reporting by Nelson Renteria in San Salvador; Writing by Robert Campbell, Editing by Sandra Maler)