Storm Nate claims 22, targets Gulf

TROPICAL STORM Nate, which is expected to reach the U.S. on Sunday, killed at least 22 people in Central America on Thursday as it pummeled the region with heavy rain.

The storm is heading toward Mexico’s Caribbean resorts and the U.S. Gulf Coast, where it could strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall this weekend in Louisiana.

American oil and natural gas operators began evacuating staff and halting production at Gulf of Mexico platforms on Thursday ahead of the storm.

In Nicaragua, at least 15 people died and six others were reported missing amid downpours and flooding, the country’s vice president, Rosario Murillo, told state media.

Emergency officials in Costa Rica reported that at least seven people were killed, including two children, and 15 were missing. The government declared a state of emergency, closing schools and all other nonessential services.