9/24/99 -- 11:04 PM Honduras evacuates 100,000 as heavy rain threatens major dam

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) - More than 100,000 people told to flee their homes following weeks of torrential rains that threatened Friday to overwhelm Honduras' main hydroelectric dam and flood the region.

Officials said Friday that they were increasing the flow of the water from the El Cajon dam by 30 times in an effort to ease building pressure. The dam provides 60 percent of Honduras' energy supply.

But the move was also expected to cause surrounding rivers to rise and flood their banks, bringing widespread damage and destruction to the area.

President Carlos Flores Facusse declared a state of emergency last week because of the flooding, which has affected the capital, Tegucigalpa, and the country's banana, grain and sugarcane crops.

Six people have been killed, 300 homes destroyed and nine bridges toppled in the Central American country.

Soldiers, police and other emergency workers were helping with the evacuations. Residents were asked to try to find accommodations with relatives and friends.

Honduras is still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Mitch, which last year killed more than 5,000 people, left 8,000 missing and caused billions of dollars of damage. With 40,000 people still homeless from Mitch, the country of 6.3 million will have difficulty finding shelter for new evacuees.

On Friday, officials began releasing 1,300 cubic yards of water per second from El Cajon, one of the biggest hydroelectric dams in the world. Normally water is released from the dam at a rate of 38 cubic yards per second.

Presidential adviser Nahum Valladares said electric rationing would be needed because the country's two other dams couldn't meet the country's full needs.

Heavy rains also caused flooding in neighboring Guatemala. A 25-year-old man was killed Thursday when he was swept away by the Ixpats River in San Sebastian, 75 miles southeast of Guatemala City. Several communities have been evacuated along the Ixpats, Samala and Botas rivers. Flooding has destroyed houses, streets and water and sewage systems.

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-- Shelia (Shelia@active-stream.com), September 25, 1999