Hurricane wind speeds that at one point reached 140 kilometers (87 miles) per hour when Adrian was over the Pacific Ocean have slowed to near 100 kilometers (65 miles) per hour as the tropical storm was now over central El Salvador traveling northeastward at 19 kilometers (12 miles) per hour, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said in a statement at 0900 GMT.

Hurricane warnings along the coast of El Salvador have been replaced with a tropical storm warning as the circulation of the storm continues dwindling with the center predicting that it may dissipate altogether before reaching the Caribbean Sea.

The center, however, continued to warn against rainfall accumulations of 15 to 25 centimeters (six to 10 inches) with isolated higher amounts of near 50 centimeters (20 inches) in the mountains, warning of life-threatening flash floods and mudslides.

Ahead of the storm, El Salvador authorities evacuated 19,000 people in the path of swollen rivers in the western part of the country, while the streets of San Salvador emptied of people in the evening hours forcing restaurants, shops and movie theaters to close early.

In Honduras, where Adrian was expected to reach later Friday, emergency services had earlier prepared to evacuate up to 160,000 people from coastal areas and flood prone regions.

Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos said in Managua, "A yellow alert has been declared beginning Thursday to last 48 hours."

Central America is still recovering from flooding triggered by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed more than 11,000 in the region and left some 1.5 million homeless.

If Adrian holds togeter after crossing Honduras, it is expected to to head out over the Caribbean Sea where it could pick up speed once again.

Martin Nelson, with the National Hurricane Center, said it was "rare, although not unheard of," for a storm that gathers in the Pacific to move eastward and across Central America. "It's been a few years since that happened," Nelson said.

Virtually the entire region across Central America has been on alert since Wednesday in preparation for the hurricane's arrival.

In El Salvador, Family Affairs minister Auda Prieto said the government had seven tonnes of beans, rice and corn ready for emergency delivery, enough to feed some 500,000 families.

In the San Salvador, markets on Thursday were bursting with customers buying emergency supplies.

"For anyone who has children, the situation is worrisome," said Victor Campos, 30, who was at San Salvador's main open-air market with his wife. "In El Salvador we are accustomed to earthquakes and storms, but I don't think anyone expected a hurricane," he said.

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