MANAGUA, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Heavy rain that pummeled Nicaragua has left at least six people dead this month, local news outlets reported Wednesday.
Nicaragua's Red Cross said 496 families have been evacuated in the past 24 hours from the northern province of Matagalpa, the western province of Leon and the central province of Boaco.
Also on Wednesday, Red Cross workers recovered the body of a man identified as Stanislao Rivera, said the organization's director Auner Garcia.
Rivera had been reported missing Tuesday morning and his death brought the number of those who died during the heavy rain this month to six.
The Red Cross has sent some 208 volunteers to help rescue victims during the past few days, Garcia said.
"We have been undertaking this efforts in conjunction with local authorities and the Civil Defense," he said.
On Tuesday, the Nicaraguan government issued a red alert, the highest alert, for six provinces near the Pacific and two regions along the Caribbean.
Also on Tuesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said an area of low pressure was in forming in the Pacific region of Nicaragua and has a 90 percent probability of becoming a tropical storm in the next five days.
The low pressure system is already generating precipitation, according to experts.
On Tuesday, Nicaraguan authorities evacuated some 800 people from the Matagalpa province due to an overflowing river.
Authorities said the rain will continue for at least the next 48 hours.
