 |
|
|
 News from Around the Americas | October 2005 
Hundreds Buried by Mud
 Edgar Calderon - AFP
Guatemala City - The death toll from devastating mudslides in Guatemala could reach 2,000 as rescuers suspended their search on Monday for hundreds of people buried in a muddy tomb.
President Oscar Berger declared three days of mourning for the 652 people confirmed dead in Guatemala since Tropical Storm Stan unleashed unrelenting rains last week that triggered floods and avalanches of mud.
Up to 1,400 people are missing in the communities of Panabaj and Tzanchaj in a lake region 180km west of Guatemala City.
Guatemalan and Spanish firefighters had little hope of finding survivors as they searched with sniffer dogs five days after the mudslide tumbled down the slopes of San Lucas volcano onto the towns.
"This is a temporary suspension, because you can't work in this terrain," said firefighters' spokesperson Mario Cruz. "We are waiting for the government's decision to resume work or declare it a cemetery," which would end the search.
Mass Grave
Cruz said earlier that only 77 had been found so far in Panabaj, including just one in the last three days.
The local mayor has asked the central government to declare the devastated area a mass grave.
"If it had been an earthquake, you could hope to find survivors, but here in the mud, I don't think so," said a Spanish firefighter. "It could take a month for it to dry up."
Hundreds of villagers in the Mayan region had flocked to the mudslide since Wednesday to try to dig out their friends, relatives and neighbours.
Local farmer Geronimo Mendoza said, "I had a lot of friends in these homes."
"I want to find their remains to give then a dignified burial."
West of Panabaj and Tzanchaj, officials estimate that hundreds have also disappeared or died.
Several towns were "destroyed" and another 14 were flooded in the southwest, near the Pacific coast, said Santo Domingo Mayor Mario Perez.
Stan slammed the Mexican state of Veracruz on Tuesday as a hurricane before being downgraded to a tropical storm.
At least 72 people were killed in El Salvador, 28 in Mexico and 11 in Nicaragua.
The United Nations said it was launching a $22m flash appeal to assist victims in Guatemala.
The United States military sent a humanitarian assistance team of 58 over the weekend and eight helicopters to deliver supplies.
About 3.5 million people were affected by the storm in Guatemala, where damage is estimated at $800m.
In southeastern Mexico, hundreds of farming communities face possible food shortages for months and the loss of entire crops.
Mexican authorities have launched a vaccination drive amid an outbreak of dengue fever in the storm zone.
Mexican President Vicente Fox estimated that rebuilding broken bridges, homes and other infrastructure in his country would cost $1.8bn. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us