San Jose: Tropical Storm Nate has killed at least 22 people in Central America as it pummeled the region with heavy rain while heading toward Mexico's Caribbean resorts and the US Gulf Coast, where it could strike as a hurricane this weekend.

In Nicaragua, at least 11 people died on Thursday, seven others were reported missing and thousands had to evacuate homes because of flooding, said the country's vice president Rosario Murillo.

Four storms: Hurricane Katia in the western Atlantic between Bermuda and the US East coast; tropical storm Lee's remnants affecting the north-eastern US, tropical storm Maria in the central Atlantic; and newborn Nate in the Bay of Campeche, Gulf of Mexico. Credit:NASA/NOAA GOES

Emergency officials in Costa Rica reported that at least eight people were killed due to the lashing rain, including two children. Another 17 people were missing, while more than 7000 had to take refuge from Nate in shelters, authorities said.

Two youths also drowned in Honduras due to the sudden swell in a river, while a man was killed in a mud slide in El Salvador and another person was missing, emergency services said.