Update: Friday, June 4, 2010
(Please scroll down for previous updates)
Emergency Update: Relief Efforts in Guatemala Hampered But Continuing
By Deron Denton
This is the latest information from Children International staff on the ground in Guatemala:
- Food, water and other emergency relief supplies are being distributed in those communities staff is able to reach by vehicle.
- Thankfully there are no reports of serious injury or death among our sponsored population.
- Our community center in Ciudad Nueva cannot be used because of the danger imposed by a large sinkhole (almost 100 feet wide) in the street near the building.
- The roads to Patalul, which had previously been inaccessible, have reopened. Staff and volunteers are conducting house-to-house evaluations.
- The roads to Villa Canales remain blocked – we will be visiting sponsored families there as soon as possible.
We thank you for your concern. And we appreciate your patience and understanding as staff and volunteers do their best – under difficult circumstances – to provide us with accurate information about all sponsored children as quickly as possible.
Note to sponsors of children in Guatemala: No news is good news. It is Children International’s policy to directly inform sponsors when their sponsored children have been affected by a disaster.
Update: Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Beleaguered Guatemala Begins Road to Recovery
(Please scroll down for previous updates)
By Deron Denton
Our staff in Guatemala this morning report that they are continuing to evaluate the damage to our sponsored population there. The ongoing assessment of all 32,000 sponsored Guatemalan children is being slowed by damaged infrastructure including highways, massive sinkholes, blocked roads and collapsed bridges.
Children International released emergency aid funds to the agency, providing staff on the ground with the necessary flexibility and speed in meeting the needs of those impacted by the volcano and tropical storm Agatha. Displaced and affected families with sponsored children whom staff are able to reach are being provided emergency supplies, including food, water and candles.
Dedicated youth and other volunteers began the laborious task of cleaning the mud from the community center in Tecpán. We hope to resume regular sponsorship activities there as soon as possible.
We have no reports of serious injury or death among our sponsored population.
It is Children International’s policy to directly inform sponsors when their sponsored children have been affected by a disaster. We have no new reports from Honduras at this time.
To read a firsthand account from the disaster area in Guatemala, as reported by our communications coordinator, Javier Cárcamo, click here. Please be advised that it contains very graphic descriptions of death and human suffering.
Update: Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Emergency Update: Two Volcanoes, Flooding Ravage Sponsorship Areas
By Deron Denton
A series of natural disasters in Guatemala, Honduras and Ecuador affected tens of thousands of sponsored children over the holiday weekend.
Tropical Storm Agatha, the first storm of the Pacific hurricane season, caused the most damage, battering Guatemala and Honduras over the course of several days.
We have no reports of death or serious injury among our sponsored population in any of these countries. However, Children International staff on the ground
are still conducting house-to-house evaluations as they check on the well-being of all sponsored children.
Emergency relief is being coordinated and supplies are being released as Children International staff and volunteers discover the extent of damage and determine what victims need.
The destruction was widespread in hardest-hit Guatemala, where more than 100,000 people were evacuated. The devastation from flooding was compounded by the ash from the Pacaya volcano, which erupted Thursday, May 27, the day before the storm struck. Massive mudslides buried homes and victims. Approximately 100 deaths were reported nationwide. |
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Families in Guatemala search through thick mud, assessing
the damage to communities and personal property. |
At least nine rivers reached dramatically high levels, with more than a dozen bridge collapses and reports of giant sinkholes. Guatemala’s President Colom ordered a nationwide state of emergency, affecting more than 32,000 sponsored children in Guatemala City.
In neighboring Honduras, more than a dozen people were killed and several thousand were forced to evacuate their homes. Honduran President Lobo also declared an official state of emergency for the entire country. Children International serves more than 20,000 impoverished children and their families in Honduras.
Ecuador’s Tungurahua volcano erupted over the weekend as well, spewing blankets of ash over much of the surrounding area, including Guayaquil, where Children International sponsors nearly 35,000 children. Although the airport and schools in Guayaquil were temporarily shut down, regular activities have resumed.
It is Children International’s policy to directly notify sponsors when their child has been affected by a disaster.
Photo credit: Javier Cárcamo, of our Guatemala City agency.
Update: Sunday, May 30, 2010
Emergency Update: Guatemala Suffers 3 Disasters in as Many Days
By Garrett Kenyon
Tropical Storm Agatha, the first major tropical storm of 2010, made landfall near Guatemala's border with Mexico Saturday. Before the beleaguered capital could recover from two violent eruptions of the Pacaya volcano on Thursday and Friday, which covered Guatemala City with a thick layer of ash, the storm swept across the region causing mudslides, destroying homes and flooding towns and villages. In a statement to the press, Guatemalan President, Alvaro Colom called Tropical Storm Agatha "an even bigger emergency" than the volcano eruptions and urged citizens to remain "stoic."
By Sunday, the rain had ceased, but not before dumping up to 3 feet of rain in several areas of the region. Approximately 70,000 Guatemalans have been evacuated and thousands of homes were destroyed, according to disaster relief specialists.
As of this time, the only report we have of damage to a community where sponsored children live is in Villa Canales, where some roofs were damaged. The mayor of that area has pledged support in repairing those roofs. As news continues to trickle slowly from the country, we will continue to monitor the situation. It is Children International's policy to notify sponsors directly if their sponsored children have been injured or affected.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Emergency Alert: Volcano Erupts Near Guatemala City, Causing State of Emergency
By Garrett Kenyon
Guatemala -- At 7p.m. on Thursday night, the southern Pacaya volcano, just 15 miles south of Guatemala City, erupted violently, spewing lava and raining heavy debris on surrounding towns and villages. Soon after the eruption, government officials began evacuating thousands of residents from communities nearest to the volcano.
Guatemalan President, Alvaro Colom, has declared a State of Emergency for the next 15 days and urged citizens of the capital to remain calm as thick clouds of ash descended on Guatemala City. Schools, churches, and La Aurora International Airport were closed following the eruption and residents were advised to remain indoors until such time as the situation is under control.
Children International field officers have reported no injuries of sponsored children, but will continue to monitor the situation. The community closest to the volcano in which sponsored children reside is the Villa Canales, which does not appear to have been among the areas sustaining the most serious damage. It is Children International's policy to notify sponsors directly if their sponsored children have been injured or affected.
The Pacaya volcano rises to a summit of 8,373 feet (2,552) meters, and had been dormant for a century before erupting powerfully in 1965. Since then it has become a popular destination for tourists visiting Guatemala City.
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