Hurricane Adrian has slammed into El Salvador's coast, President Tony Saca said, cutting off power and forcing officials to close schools and evacuate 14,000 people.

The hurricane hit land on a stretch of coast west of the capital, San Salvador, but the full force of the storm - the first recorded Pacific hurricane to strike the country - has yet to be felt.

El Salvador declared an emergency as the unusual hurricane, the eastern Pacific's first named storm of the season, washed out roads and unleashed heavy rains that forecasters said could cause devastating flooding.

"The hurricane has entered Salvadoran territory, and several things may now happen," Saca said. "This emergency situation isn't over yet."

The country's National Service for Territorial Studies reported the hurricane hit land near the port of Acajutla, about 55km west of the capital, San Salvador, but with weakened winds.

Adrian was well west of Puerto La Libertad, the beach resort and seafood centre closest to San Salvador.

Deserted streets

Streets in La Libertad were deserted as people sought refuge in their homes after power went out, rains sprayed across increasingly agitated surf and waves pounded at the pier.

"The electricity has gone out, the wind is getting stronger and it's raining non-stop," said Jorge Alberto Turcios, a guard at a restaurant in La Libertad.

"The waves are getting higher; there's not a soul on the street," Turcios said in a telephone interview.

Earlier, Saca broadcast an appeal for his citizens to obey evacuation requests.

"We understand that they are guarding their belongings, but lives are worth more than anything," he told Radio La Chevere.

Thousands evacuated

Authorities evacuated about 14,000 people from low-lying coastal areas, in some cases using helicopters as waters rose. Most were taken to improvised shelters at schools, where classes were cancelled.

Rivers rose in El Salvador and in neighbouring Honduras, both nations devastated by Hurricane Mitch - a Caribbean storm - in 1998.

The rains began to wash out some roads in both countries, officials reported.

Already one death was indirectly linked to the storm - a military pilot died on Wednesday when he crashed a small plane that he was ferrying from San Salvador's civilian airport to a military base as a precaution against the heavy winds.

Officials did not give the cause of the crash.

Strong winds

The US National Hurricane Centre reported Adrian had sustained maximum winds of almost 130kph and higher gusts, before making landfall.

The region, where many people live in shacks clinging to sharp ravines, is vulnerable to flooding and landslides. Mitch, arriving from the Caribbean, killed 9000 people in Central America.

PHOTO CAPTION

A GOES satellite image of Adrian. (AFP)