Hundreds of soldiers and rescue workers are searching for the missing after the remnants of tropical storm Earl triggered landslides in central Mexico that killed at least 45 people over the past few days. Trudging through mud that is sometimes up to their knees, emergency teams are using sniffer dogs to find more bodies in the rubble as well as working to dig damaged homes out of the muck. Earl smashed into Central America at hurricane strength last week, and then hit Mexico as a tropical storm before weakening to a tropical depression. But its remaining force still packed a deadly punch. Hardest hit was the central state of Puebla, where 32 people died, including at least 15 minors, as landslides buried several homes in the state's northern mountains, said governor Rafael Moreno Valle. A further 13 people died in similar circumstances or were washed away in the flood waters in the eastern state of Veracruz, officials said. In the town of Huauchinango, the amount of rain that normally falls in a month came pouring down in just 24 hours.
Storm leaves death and destruction in its wake

- PublishedAug 10, 2016, 5:00 am SGT
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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 10, 2016, with the headline 'Storm leaves death and destruction in its wake'. Print Edition | Subscribe