Guatemala: Responding to tropical storm Agatha

A giant sinkhole caused by the rains of Tropical Storm Agatha is seen in Guatemala City [REUTERS/Daniel LeClair courtesy of alertnet.org]

We are helping our partner to respond to the flooding crisis in Guatemala caused by tropical storm Agatha

Tropical storm Agatha, the first storm of the hurricane season in the Pacific, hit Guatemala at the end of May and brought the nation’s heaviest rains in 60 years.

We have given our partner, Caritas Quiche, an initial grant of £3,400 towards the relief effort and are talking to them about how we can help further.

The storm triggered floods and landslides that buried homes, collapsed bridges, destroyed crops, and opened up a massive sinkhole that swallowed a three-storey building in the capital, Guatemala City.

So far, 179 people have been killed and tens of thousands have been made homeless.

When the storm hit, thousands of people in Guatemala had already evacuated their homes to escape the erupting Pacaya volcano, just south of the capital.

CAFOD’s Regional Representative for Central America and Mexico who is in Guatemala City says: ‘Having lived in the shadows of Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano for ten years with numerous ash falls, this one was quite spectacular.

“About ten centimetres of black sand fell within three hours of the eruption, which was followed by 24 hours of tropical downpours. This turned the sand to sludge, blocking up drains and generally causing havoc.”

Food and water

Our partner, Caritas Quiche, is part of a local coordinated relief effort providing emergency food, drinking water and other essential household items to 700 families affected by the disaster.

Caritas Quiche Director Jorge Luis Castro Leon reports: ‘Hundreds of families have been forced to evacuate their homes and seek refuge in temporary emergency shelters. They are in desperate need of food and drinking water. Many people have lost their homes and their crops."

Caritas Quiche is also finding out what damage has been done to houses and water systems and will assess what is needed.

They estimate that up to 50 per cent of water systems in the Quiche area have been damaged, which means that more than 1,000 families will not have clean water. ‘If we don’t repair the water systems soon there is risk of outbreak of diseases in the communities’, he says.

The storm also hit El Salvador and Honduras, both of which are also grappling with massive damage to people’s homes. Experts have predicted that up to 17 tropical storms or hurricanes could hit the region in 2010.

We ask that you keep the people of Central America in your thoughts and prayers.

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