Ms Tipper Gore, the wife of the US Vice-President, Mr Al Gore, has visited areas devastated by Hurricane Mitch and stayed at an emergency shelter overnight.
Ms Gore arrived in Honduras on Tuesday. On seeing the extent of the destruction wrought by the Choluteca River, she picked up a shovel and joined crews removing tons of debris and mud. Ms Gore also met President Carlos Flores.
Mrs Hillary Clinton will visit Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador next Monday, as will President Jacques Chirac of France. Latest official figures put the death toll at 11,100, with 15,000 people still missing.
A British navy vessel on Tuesday rescued 34 Nicaraguan fishermen whose boat capsized in the Caribbean.