Hurricane Julia wreaks havoc in Central America, 28 dead

Hurricane Julia has dissipated, but is still drenching Guatemala and El Salvador with torrential rains. The storm reemerged in the Pacific following a pounding of Nicaragua. In this picture, soldiers stand guard under the rain near a cross that decorates a road in Comasagua, El Salvador. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

At least 28 people were reported dead as a direct or indirect result of the storm. In pic: Children run by a street of uprooted trees due Hurricane Julia in Bluefields, Nicaragua. (AP Photo/Inti Ocon)

A Red Cross ambulance leaves an area affected by rain in Comasagua. Guatemala's disaster prevention agency said 5 people died after part of a hill collapsed on their house in Alta Verapaz province, burying them. And, in Huehuetenango province near Mexico, nine died, including a soldier, while performing rescue work. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Authorities in El Salvador said 5 Salvadoran army soldiers died after a wall collapsed at a house where they sought refuge in the town of Comasagua, where hundreds of police and soldiers have been conducting anti-gang raids. Another soldier was injured. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Soldiers arrive at an area affected by rain in Comasagua. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Two others died in the eastern El Salvador town of Guatajiagua after heavy rains caused a wall of their home to collapse. Another man in El Salvador died when he was swept away by a current, and another died when a tree fell on him. (AP Photo/Inti Ocon)

El Salvador has declared a state of emergency and opened 80 storm shelters. In this picture, a man stands outside his house surrounded by floodwaters. (AP Photo/Inti Ocon)

In neighbouring Honduras, a 22-year-old woman died when she was swept away by currents, and three people died when their boat swamped or capsized in northern Honduras. A man in Nicaragua was killed by a falling tree. Here, women walk in the mud past felled trees toward Comasagua. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)