The tragedy is likely to raise the number of storm victims to well above the current official figure of 402.

The death toll in the landslide that hit the municipality of Posoltega, some 140 km northwest of Managua, on Saturday may reach 1,000, said Posoltega mayor Felicitas Zeledon.

``We counted 58 corpses floating on the river, but we believe the death toll could reach 1,000,'' Zeledon told AFP by telephone, noting that some 1,200 people lived in the landslide area. Zeledon, however, warned the information was still preliminary.

The remnants of Hurricane Mitch -- downgraded to a tropical depression but still drenching Central America with deadly rains -- left floods, hundreds of dead and thousands of homeless people in its wake as it slowly moved toward Guatemala early today.

In Honduras, panic-strickenvillagers, terrified by rising flood waters, waved scarves and shredded clothes at helicopters bringing aid. The aircraft were often buffeted by winds and sometimes unable to land.