HURRICANE Felix today continued to cause devastation along Nicaragua's Caribbean coast.

Doctors were forced to treat storm casualties in a makeshift clinic after their hospital was flooded and whole villages were wrecked.

The death toll rose to at least 18 today, with dozens more missing.

In the north west, Hurricane Henriette ploughed into Mexico for a second time in two days near the port city of Guaymas, with top sustained winds of 75mph. It quickly weakened into a tropical storm as it swept inland.

Seven deaths were reported from the Pacific storm, which hit Baja California on Tuesday.

Schools and ports were closed and residents evacuated low-lying areas on Mexico's mainland, but the storm was expected to weaken quickly over the desert before dumping a few inches of rain on New Mexico today.

Felix broke up yesterday over the mountains of Central America, but heavy rains continued to fall across avalanche-prone areas.