Tropical Storm Nate lashes Central America

Nicaragua was hit with two weeks of constant rain ahead of Nate's arrival. The whole country has been placed on alert with warnings of flooding and landslides. At least 11 died, including two women and a man who worked for the Health Ministry who were swept away by a flooded canal in the central municipality of Juigalpa.

In Costa Rica, 7,000 people were sleeping in emergency shelters because flooding drove them out of their homes. At least eight people are dead and 17 more are missing.

Costa Rica's government declared a state of emergency. It closed all schools and all other non-essential services. Highways were closed due to mudslides, while power outages plagued many parts of country. Authorities deployed more than 3,500 police.

A three-year-old girl was among the dead in Costa Rica. Accidents were caused by falling trees, mudslides, washed-out roads and overflowing rivers.

Nate comes during the annual five-month rainy season in Central America that typically ends in November. But this year has been particularly intense, with some areas in the region getting up to 50 percent more rain than average for September and October.

Tropical Storm Nate is expected to strengthen as it crosses the Gulf of Mexico and make US landfall in Louisiana. Various districts have issued emergency orders after it left a deadly wake in Central America