New storm lashes Central America

Bridges have been damaged and destroyed in Honduras

A new tropical storm dumping heavy rain on the east coast of Central America has left at least three people dead.

Tropical Storm Gamma, the 24th of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic season, caused floods and landslides in Honduras, which remains on alert.

Forecasters say Gamma is drifting northwards towards western Cuba, missing parts of Mexico battered by Hurricane Wilma last month.

The storm is then expected to head for Jamaica, to arrive on Wednesday.

Packing winds of around 45 mph (72km/h), Tropical Storm Gamma was centred about 215 miles (345km) east-southeast of Belize City and 45 miles (70km) north-east of Limon, Honduras, at 2100 GMT on Saturday.

According to AP news agency, a small plane disappeared in Belize and five fishermen were missing after their boat capsized.

Another 13 people are reported missing in Honduras. The country's emergency services chief, Jose Ramon Salinas, said the situation was "very worrying" in the north.

"More than 5,000 people have had to be evacuated and roads and bridges have been damaged or destroyed leaving several cities and towns isolated," he told Reuters news agency.

Like its two predecessors, Alpha and Beta, Gamma takes its name from the Greek alphabet after the official list of storm names for 2005 was exhausted.

Alpha, which struck in late October, killed 26 people in the Caribbean and caused flooding and mudslides in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.