Central America storm kills 17, dozens more feared

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - The remnants of Tropical Storm Agatha dumped more rain across Central America Sunday after killing at least 17 people in the region, sparking fears of further mudslides in three countries.

Agatha, the first named storm of the 2010 Pacific hurricane season, slammed into the Guatemalan coast near the border with Mexico Saturday.

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

At least other 14 people were believed dead in the town of San Antonio Palopo, 90 miles southeast of the capital, after a huge mudslide engulfed an entire neighborhood.

"There was a mudslide that wiped out homes, trees and everything in its path," said a man who gave his name on local radio as Luis.

"We have found 14 bodies and we think there are another eight to 10 beneath the mud."

Rescue workers scrambled to restore communications to towns and villages cut off by landslides where other victims were feared.

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.

Swollen rivers burst their banks and mudslides buried homes in towns and cities alike. A highway bridge near Guatemala City was swept away by the floodwaters and sinkholes opened up in the capital where many neighborhoods remained without electricity.

The intense rainfall has sparked concern over the condition of the coffee crop in Guatemala, the region's biggest producer, as well as in El Salvador, where the rains fell heaviest in the principal coffee-growing region.

More than 3 feet (1 meter) of rain fell in parts of Guatemala, said 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 news conference.

Three people were killed in neighboring El Salvador and 5,000 were in shelters, emergency officials said. Officials said they were looking into reports of five other fatalities but could not immediately confirm the deaths.

One man in northern Honduras was killed when his home collapsed and emergency officials warned of possible mudslides from saturated hills.

DAMAGE TO COFFEE UNKNOWN

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 that has blocked drainage systems.

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

National coffee associations in Guatemala and El Salvador said poor communications had so far left them unable to determine the extent of any damage to their crops.

(Additional reporting by Nelson Renteria in San Salvador and Gustavo Palencia in Tegucigalpa; Writing by Robert Campbell, Editing by Vicki Allen and Peter Cooney)