The governments of Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and some other Central American countries are taking measures to protect their people from tropical storm Adrian.

The hurricane Adrian, which is the first named tropical storm of the season in the region, gained force and is moving directly toward the coastline of El Salvador and Guatemala from the Pacific Ocean. Weather forecasts said the unusual hurricane would hit land Thursday night and carries heavy rains that might cause devastating flooding.

In Guatemala, the government declared a "maximum alert" ahead of the hurricane. Reports said two Guatemalan workers were killed in a collapse caused by rain when they were digging a ditch in the village of Caxaque, 260 km west of Guatemala City.

In El Salvador, President Tony Saca declared a state of emergency and called on his people to evacuate from their houses. Vice President Ana Vilma Escobar said early Thursday that some 20,000 people have been evacuated so far.

A Salvadoran military pilot was reportedly killed in a crash when his small plane was hit by strong winds Wednesday.

In Nicaragua, President Enrique Bolanos decreed Thursday afternoon a 48-hour "yellow alert" when the hurricane's first rains have started to produce problems in the country.

At a news conference held after an emergency meeting with members of the National Disaster Prevention and Management System (SINAPRED), Bolanos said that some 72 municipalities of seven western and northern departments of the country will be hit by rains.

The civil protection authorities of the Mexican state of Oaxaca (south) also declared a state of emergency and prevented tourists from swimming in those beaches considered dangerous due to the possibility of four-meter waves.

The Central American region, where many people live in shanties alongside sharp ravines, is particularly vulnerable to flooding and landslides. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch killed at least 9,000 people in the region.

(Xinhua News Agency May 20, 2005)