The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Nicaragua

The death toll from Hurricane Felix mounted to 21 and could rise further as search-and-rescue teams spread out Wednesday along northeastern Nicaragua, where the furious storm left a trail of destruction.

One day after it slammed ashore from the Caribbean, smashing thousands of homes, Felix lost all its punch, but the rain it dumped raised fears of floods and mudslides in neighboring Honduras.

Teams deploying along Nicaragua's coast feared they would find more death and destruction as they made their way to isolated communities whose wooden shacks offered no protection from the 260 kilometer (160 mile) per hour winds the hurricane packed when it thundered onto land.

"We have 21 dead and it is possible that will increase. We must speed up (search) efforts," said Reynaldo Francis, governor of the impoverished North Atlantic Autonomous Region, the worst hit by the hurricane.

"We are geting information of bodies floating in the water," he added in a conversation with President Daniel Ortega broadcast on national television.

Among those killed by the storm's fury was a baby who died at birth, officials said.

In many areas along Nicaragua's Caribbean coast, the scene was one of desolation after the storm smashed thousands of homes, many made of wood and tin, and displaced 50,000 people.