At least 40 people have been killed in floods caused by the hurricane Ida that swept El Salvador, interior minister said Sunday.

The government has declared a state of emergency in five of the Central American nation's departments, Humberto Centeno told a press conference, Xinhua reported.

More victims were expected to be found as rescue is underway, he said.

The tropical depression Ida is moving across the Central American region, including Mexico and Nicaragua, causing huge damages and leaving thousands of people homeless. It has strengthened off the Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and is heading the southeastern Gulf of Mexico.

According to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), Ida was a category one on the five-level Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, moving northwestward at 11 km per hour with winds over 120 km per hour.

The NHC had warned of heavy rainfall which could lead to dangerous floods, mudslides and large waves

SEARCH