Tropical Storm Pilar kills at least two people in El Salvador

Heavy rains linked to Tropical Storm Pilar caused at least two deaths in El Salvador, officials said, while parts of Central America suffered severe flooding on Tuesday evening.

The Associated Press and local news media attributed reports of the dead to officials from the country’s civil defense agency. A spokesperson for that agency said by telephone Tuesday evening that he could not immediately confirm them.

Pilar had maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour Tuesday evening, 14 miles less than hurricane force, according to the United States National Hurricane Center said in an opinion. The center was about 200 kilometers south of San Salvador, the Salvadoran capital, and 340 kilometers west of Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, on Tuesday evening.

Tropical storm warnings are in effect for the Pacific coasts of Nicaragua and Honduras. That means tropical storm conditions are possible within the next 12 to 24 hours. The U.S. Hurricane Center said the storm was drifting north and was expected to move westward into the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday.

But Pilar was still forecast to produce 2 to 4 inches of rain through Wednesday, and up to 6 inches in some areas, in parts of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Costa Rica, the center said. It also warned of possible flooding in cities and mudslides at higher altitudes.

Hurricanes have become more destructive over time, due in no small part to the influences of a warming planet. Climate change is causing more powerful storms, and they are dumping more water due to heavier rainfall and a tendency to dawdle and wander; rising seas and slower storms can lead to higher and more destructive storm surges.