Hurricane strikes Mexican coast

The Mexican state of Veracruz was braced for the storm

Hurricane Stan has ploughed through mainland Mexico after killing at least 80 people in Central America.

The Category One hurricane, carrying winds of 130km/h (80mph), came ashore south of the port of Veracruz, 295km (185 miles) east of Mexico City.

There were no reported fatalities in Veracruz but several people were swept away in the southern state of Chiapas.

The storm, downgraded to a tropical storm, headed slowly south-west while weakening further.

There were reports of flooding and trees being knocked down in Veracruz as the outer bands of the storm struck.

Flimsy roofs were torn off poorly-constructed homes and torrents of water ran through the city.

The Mexican state oil company, Pemex, evacuated several rigs in the area and Mexican officials set up dozens of shelters.

Death toll

Meanwhile, thousands of evacuees remain in shelters in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, following the hurricane's heavy rains.

At least 80 people across Central America were killed in flooding and landslides triggered by the deluge, which swept across Mexico's Yucatan peninsula over the weekend before moving into the Gulf of Mexico.

El Salvador - already shaken by the eruption of its biggest volcano - was worst hit with at least 49 deaths, mostly from landslides.

The government declared a state of emergency and is evacuating thousands.

"Sixty percent of the country is in danger of landslides," El Salvador's President Tony Saca warned. "The risk caused by this accumulation of water is worrying."

The country's director of the National Emergency Centre, Mauricio Ferrer, said some 300 communities had been flooded.

Central America has been pounded by days of solid rain

More than 8,500 people had been forced to flee their homes, and were being accommodated in 122 shelters, he added.

Officials said a landslide buried five members of the same family, including three children, in San Marcos, south-east of the Salvadorean capital, San Salvador.

"They are trapped in the mud that drowned them," sobbed Ana Ramos, aunt to the mother of the family.

Emergency personnel were trying to reach stricken areas, but were hampered as landslides and swollen rivers cut off major routes.

A state of emergency was declared in parts of Guatemala, after dozens of communities were also stranded by floods.

Up to 19 people were reported to have died there, while several also died in Honduras and Nicaragua.