SAN SALVADOR : Four Central American countries hunkered down Tuesday as Tropical Storm Cristina approached with potential for heavy rain and storm surges.

El Salvador's education ministry closed schools and universities on Tuesday and Wednesday due to the risk of landslides, flooding, and other hazards.

Fishermen in La Libertad, 35 kilometers (20 miles) south of the capital San Salvador, were ordered to remain in port, which was lashed by strong waves.

Dozens of seafront shops shuttered in advance of Cristina's arrival, as did the seafood market.

El Salvador's civil protection director Luis Alonso Amaya said 180 shelters have been set up across the country in anticipation of heavy rainfall over the next three days.

In Guatemala, authorities said they expected the heaviest rainfall to occur along the coast, on the central Altiplano region and in the valleys of eastern Guatemala.

Nicaraguan co-president Rosario Murillo urged residents to stay away from the coast due to heavy rains that have been intensifying since Sunday.

In Honduras, emergency management authorities issued an alert for nine regions.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami reported early Tuesday that Cristina was approaching the Central American coast with sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour (40 miles per hour).

The NHC warned that the storm, moving north at six kph, is expected to bring four to eight inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain, with up to 12 inches possible across coastal portions of Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala through Thursday morning.

"This rainfall may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain," NHC said in a bulletin.

"Coastal flooding from storm surge is possible in areas of onshore winds." Central America is one of the world's most hurricane-prone regions.