At least 15 dead after heavy rains in Guatemala
Rains accompanied by strong winds caused landslides, floods, infrastructure collapses and destruction in Guatemala.
File image from November 7, 2020 in Queja, Guatemala, after Hurricane Eta hit.
AFP
At least fifteen people died and seven were injured in a dozen mudslides caused by the heavy rains that have fallen since the beginning of May in Guatemala, where more than 500,000 people are affected by these bad weather, civil protection said on Monday. .
Among the fifteen people who died are a woman and her six children, as well as three minor brothers, from two indigenous villages, said the Coordination for the reduction of natural disasters (Conred).
Rains accompanied by strong winds caused landslides, floods, infrastructure collapses and destruction in most of this Central American country.
Conred said that 930 homes had been damaged as well as eight schools, more than 80 roads and seven bridges, three of which were completely destroyed.
Indigenous populations more vulnerable
The regions most affected are those where there are mainly indigenous populations, who are most vulnerable to natural disasters. Nearly 60% of Guatemala’s 17 million people live in poverty.
In 2021, the rains caused the death of 35 people and left three missing, seventeen injured and some 1.5 million people were affected. Nearly 12,000 people had to be evacuated.
The rainy season, which runs from May to November, kills hundreds of people every year in Central America, one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change.
Posted today at 01:46
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