Rescuers Find Hundreds More Storm Victims In Central America

SHAKE AND BLOW

1,400 missing in Guatemalan towns swallowed by mudslide

AFP photo

Guatemala City (AFP) Oct 09, 2005
As many as 1,400 people may have been buried alive by an avalanche of mud unleashed by the relentless rains of Tropical Storm Stan earlier this week, Guatemalan rescue workers said Saturday.

The towns of Panajab and Tzanchaj, 180 kilometers (110 miles) west of Guatemala City, were hit by a massive mudslide before dawn Wednesday, when soil loosened by days of driving rain began rushing down the slopes of the San Lucas volcano.

"I don't believe there are survivors. Already 36 hours have passed. According to estimates we have, 1,400 people were trapped there," Mario Cruz, a firefighters' spokesman, told AFP.

If those fears are confirmed, Guatemala's death toll could soar close to 2,000. The official count stood at 508 Saturday, up from 176 a day earlier after rescue workers discovered hundreds more bodies.

The storm also killed 70 people in El Salvador, 28 in Mexico and 11 in Nicaragua, authorities in those countries said. Tens of thousands were left homeless.

Stan slammed ashore as a hurricane in the Mexican state of Veracruz early Tuesday but began pounding northern Central America with rain on October 1, with Guatemala taking the hardest blow.

Many of the victims were indigenous people who lived along the banks of Lake Atitlan, in the west of the country. Tonnes of soil poured down the sides of the mountains surrounding the lake.

Most roads to the isolated area were impassable, and helicopter flights were hampered by driving rain falling for an eighth day onto waterlogged ground.

Guatemalan President Oscar Berger made an impassioned plea to the diplomatic corps in his country's capital late Friday for international assistance, estimating agricultural losses at 135 million dollars.

The United States, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Cuba, Canada and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration pledged help.

Norway's Ambassador Rolf Berg requested a detailed needs assessment to best help the estimated 1.8 million Guatemalans affected by the storm.

Mexico meanwhile launched a vaccination drive amid an outbreak of dengue fever in the storm zone. A quarantine was slapped on the town of Huejutla, in central Hidalgo state, where 180 fell ill.

At least 28 Mexicans were killed by the storm and two million were affected, officials said.

"We will overcome this tragedy. Please be calm. I promise we will rebuild," President Vicente Fox told panicked residents of Huixtlan, just north of the Guatemalan border, where 5,000 people sought refuge in shelters.

Mexico has set aside 1.6 million dollars for rescue and reconstruction efforts from the recent spike in oil revenues and the country's emergency fund.

The torrential rains "just did not stop for three days," said Emerita Albores, 37, whose home in Chiapas state was destroyed as a river burst its banks.

Normally, when there are natural disasters, the Mexican army trudges in to help. But Chiapas residents complained bitterly of being forgotten this time around.

Hundreds walked from their village homes in search of potable water and food. Locals helped one another rappel down ravines and riverbeds where washed-out bridges used to be, trying to get into the nearest town.

"The police don't want to get their shoes wet; they have left us to fend for ourselves," said Amado Montes, a resident of a village cut off by the flooding and mudslides.

The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, has been one of the deadliest and most active on record. Stan was the 10th Atlantic hurricane this year.

Hurricane Katrina, which slammed the US Gulf of Mexico coast August 29, ravaged New Orleans and coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, killing more than 1,200 people and becoming the deadliest storm to hit the United States since 1928.

earlier related report
Rescuers Find Hundreds More Storm Victims In Central America
Rescuers discovered hundreds more bodies in Central America Saturday, as unrelenting rain slowed the search for hundreds of people missing in the wake of Tropical Storm Stan.

Mudslides and floods unleashed by Stan have killed at least 617 in Central America and Mexico. The death toll in Guatemala alone soared to 508 Saturday, from 176 a day earlier, and as many as 800 Guatemalans are missing.

Stan slammed ashore as a hurricane in the Mexican state of Veracruz early Tuesday but began pounding northern Central America with rain on October 1, with Guatemala taking the hardest blow.

Many of the victims were indigenous people who lived along the banks of Lake Atitlan, in the west of the country. Tonnes of soil poured down the sides of the mountains surrounding the lake.

Most roads to the isolated area were impassable, and helicopter flights were hampered by driving rain falling for an eighth day onto waterlogged ground.

"There are 39 missing families, or around 800 people," firefighters spokesman Mario Cruz told reporters, citing witnesses and survivors in the towns of Panabaj and Tzanchaj.

Both villages were completely buried in an avalanche of mud, killing 208, President Oscar Berger said.

The storm also killed 70 people in El Salvador, 28 in Mexico and 11 in Nicaragua, authorities in those countries said. Tens of thousands were left homeless.

Berger made an impassioned plea to the diplomatic corps in his country's capital late Friday for international assistance, estimating agricultural losses at 135 million dollars.