San Salvador , El Salvador -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The remnants of Tropical Storm Agatha were headed into the Caribbean Sea late Sunday after leaving behind more than 80 dead in Guatemala and El Salvador , authorities in those countries reported . Most of the dead were in Guatemala , where heavy rains triggered mudslides that collapsed homes and forced thousands to evacuate . The country 's preliminary death toll was 73 on Sunday , with 49 of those reported in the province of Chimaltenango , said David de Leon , Spokesperson for the National Commission for the Reduction of National Disasters . That toll was expected to rise , he said . And El Salvador reported nine deaths from the storm . The government issued a red alert , the highest warning level , which shut down schools and opened up shelters for families in the affected areas , President Mauricio Funes said . Agatha , an Eastern Pacific storm , struck land Saturday and was downgraded from a tropical depression to a remnant storm on Sunday . It was last reported moving toward the western Caribbean on Sunday afternoon , but was expected to keep producing heavy rains through Monday , according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center . In Guatemala , the storm damaged more than 3,500 homes and forced the evacuation of more than 61,000 people , the nation 's emergency office said Sunday . And in Mexico , the government 's National Meteorological Service predicted torrential rain for Chiapas state , intense downpours in Tabasco and strong showers in Quintana Roo . Four other Mexican states were predicted to receive moderate rain . Strong winds also were forecast . Swollen rivers and mudslides were a concern . In Guatemala , four children were buried in a landslide outside Guatemala City , the nation 's capital . Four adults were killed in the capital , disaster officials said . Another two children and two adults were killed when a boulder , dislodged by heavy rains , crushed a house in the department of Quetzaltenango , 125 miles -LRB- 200 km -RRB- west of Guatemala City , officials said . Guatemala is already under a 15-day state of calamity because of Thursday 's eruption of the Pacaya volcano , which killed at least three people . At least 1,800 people had already been evacuated to shelters . The volcano also shut down the capital 's international airport . Ash from the volcano that covered city streets and other areas mixed with the heavy rain , forming a goo that caused many drainage systems to clog . Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom said damage from Agatha was probably worse than the destruction caused by Hurricanes Mitch in 1998 and Stan in 2005 , both of which devastated the Central American country . `` The country is suffering a great tragedy , this attack by nature , '' Colom said from the Guatemalan emergency agency center . Emergencies were reported in all of Guatemala 's 22 states , called departments . The worst , Colom said , was the Pacific Ocean port of Champerico , which is isolated . `` We have no way of getting there to help the public , which is in danger because of flooding , '' Colom said . The president said he has asked the international community for help . Agatha is the first named storm of the Pacific hurricane season . The Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1 . CNN 's Esprit Smith and journalist Merlin Rodriguez contributed to this report .