Tuesday, Guatemala residents were turned away from government aid and lack of food and returned to their destroyed homes because they had nowhere else to go. The city of Guatemala is recovering from the tropical storm that hit over a week ago; food shortages are rampant throughout the country, and shelters are full and are turning away residents without help.
Tropical Storm Agatha brought severe flooding and landslides and washed away fields of maize, banana, sugar cane and coffee, leaving many residents without food.
Late last week, the Guatemalan government reported that aid and food from 18 countries arrived, but it isn’t enough o help everyone.
Tuesday, local government officials cannot even state how many people have died because so many people are still missing. Landslides in the area have survivors searching through mud for family members.
Residents who lived near the sinkhole in Guatemala City are still not able to go home, and may never be able to. Maria del Carmen de Ramirez lived next door to the clothing factory that was swallowed by the sinkhole last week.
De Ramirez hasn’t been able to go home at all in the past week: "All I have is what people have given me," she told The Associated Press Saturday.
The sinkhole measures an estimated 66 feet across and almost 100 feet deep. Homes in the area have been abandoned and round the clock security makes sure people stay out of the area. The area around the sinkhole has been deemed unsafe.
Tuesday, Guatemalan government asked for foreign aid, and that the Inter-American Development Bank redirect $400 million in loans to the country’s disaster agency.
To see slideshow of photos of the sinkhole in Guatemala, and the damage done from the tropical storm and volcanic eruption, click here.
About 10 days ago, Guatemala was hit with Tropical Storm Agatha, and a volcano eruption that layered Guatemala City in three inches of ash. Over 180 people have been reported dead from Tropical Storm Agatha in and around Guatemala.
Thursday, a geologist from Dartmouth College, Sam Bonis spoke to National Geographic and said that the sinkhole in Guatemala is partly man made. For more on that story, click here.
Salt Lake City, Utah resident Diana Gonzalez had this to say about the residents of Guatemala: "I feel terrible for the people in Guatemala. They have very little food and nowhere to sleep. Many are not even sure where relatives are or if they are alive. It is terrible.”
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Sources: The New York Times and the CS Monitor
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