British Ambassador to Honduras, David Osborne: "Situation disastrous"

Both countries want international help to deal with the widespread floods which have left more than 130 people dead.

Thousands are still missing and the death toll is expected to rise as violent gales and torrential downpours continue to batter Central America.

In Nicaragua rescuers say more than 70 people have died and at least 130 are unaccounted for.

Half the country is under a state of emergency.

In Honduras 60 people are reported dead and many others are missing.

President Carlos Flores declared a state of emergency over the entire territory on Friday after cutting short a trip to the capital when floodwaters threatened to sweep his presidential limousine away.

Many rivers have overflowed and flooding and mudslides have swept away roads, bridges and houses, leaving thousands of people stranded.

Mayor's fears for capital

The main highway between the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, and the second city, San Pedro Sula, has been cut off.

Peter Greste: "Those whose survive the floods will still face extreme danger from disease"

"This is a disaster and it will be a catastrophe. Tegucigalpa will be destroyed if the rains continue," the City's Mayor, Cesar Castellanos, said.

Mitch has also claimed lives in Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama.

And all 31 crew of a luxury yacht lost at sea are feared drowned.

At its peak on Tuesday, the hurricane was the fourth-strongest Caribbean hurricane this century, with 180mph (305kph) winds.

Its sustained wind speed has now fallen to about 50mph (80kph).

The most ferocious Atlantic storm this decade

Forecasters have said Mitch would weaken if it remained over land, but could regain force if it returned to sea.

Officials in Mexico, however, have eased emergency measures on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Earlier this week, thousands of residents and tourists were evacuated. Hundreds of shelters were set up and at least 10 ports closed.

Charles Ampousah: Mitch is expected next in Mexico

In Belize, most of the 75,000 people in Belize City fled inland in cars and government buses.

Hurricanes are common in the Atlantic Basin but the region's communities have rarely had to cope with anything quite like this.

The strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin - which includes the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico - was Hurricane Gilbert, which devastated Jamaica, the Caymans, Martinique and parts of Mexico in 1988, killing 318 people.