GUATEMALA CITY –The death toll in Central America from landslides and flooding triggered by the year's first tropical storm surged to 99 as authorities struggled to clear roads of debris and reach cut-off communities.

Rains from the remnants of Tropical Storm Agatha have pounded an area stretching from southern Mexico nearly to Nicaragua.

The first named storm of the 2010 Pacific hurricane season, Agatha slammed into Guatemala on Saturday, dumping more than three feet of rain in the mountainous west of the country and in neighbouring El Salvador, and sparking worries about damage to the coffee crop in both countries.

Several dozen people were still reported missing in Guatemala and as the rain abated, hundreds of families searched for loved ones and belongings.

More than 80,000 people were evacuated in Guatemala since the weekend.

Agatha dissipated as it crossed Guatemala but emergency workers warned residents to expect heavy rain for several more days and said further mudslides were possible.

In Honduras, eight deaths were linked to the weather. Flooding and slides destroyed 505 homes and forced the evacuation of 2,250 people

The U.S. National Hurricane Centre in Miami warned that remnants of the storm were expected to deliver 10 to 20 inches of rain over south-eastern Mexico, Guatemala and parts of El Salvador.

Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras all declared emergencies designed to increase immediate government aid and resources.