MANAGUA, Nicaragua - Tropical Storm Nate roared toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula after drenching Central America in rain that was blamed for at least 22 deaths, and forecasters said it could strengthen and reach the Gulf Coast of the United States as a hurricane over the weekend.

Louisiana officials declared a state of emergency and ordered some people to evacuate coastal areas and barrier islands ahead of its expected landfall early on Sunday, and evacuations began at some offshore oil platforms in the Gulf.

The US National Hurricane Center said Nate could cause dangerous flooding by dumping as much as 38 to 50 centimeters of rain as it moved over Honduras, with higher accumulations in a few places.

It had maximum sustained winds of 65 km/h by Thursday night and was likely to strengthen over the northwestern Caribbean Sea on Friday before a possible strike on the Cancun region at the tip of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula at near-hurricane strength. It could hit the US Gulf coast near New Orleans.

In Nicaragua, Nate's arrival followed two weeks of near-constant rain that had left the ground saturated and rivers swollen. Authorities placed the whole country on alert and warned of flooding and landslides.

Nicaragua's Vice-President Rosario Murillo said that at least 15 people had died in the country due to the storm. She didn't give details on all the deaths, but said two women and a man who worked for the Health Ministry were swept away by a flooded canal in the municipality of Juigalpa.

Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Department blamed seven deaths in that country on the storm and said 15 people were missing. Flooding drove 5,000 residents into emergency shelters.

The forecast track showed that Nate could brush across the tip of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as a tropical storm late on Friday night.

Associated Press