At least nine people died and two people were missing from a small town near Guatemala City on Wednesday (September 7) after intense rains the night before caused a mudslide, emergency workers said.
Around 50 people were affected and various homes were damaged in Santa Isabel Villanueva, a town 30 kilometres (19 miles) south of the capital, David de Leon, a spokesman for the national emergency services, told reporters.
After Tuesday’s rains, the lack of drainage caused water to accumulate and eventually triggered the mudslide, de Leon said.
Residents and rescue workers were seen cleaning up the debris.
A crushed child’s tricycle lay nearby. Twisted metal and concrete columns collapsed under the force and weight of the mudslide.
“Approximately six homes were buried. This due to the land. The constant rainfall has kept the earth wet, which yielded due to the great amount of water. Unfortunately, during this emergency, we have eight dead,” said local fireman, Mario Upun, before the death toll rose to nine.
Authorities opened shelters for those affected, while emergency services continued to look for survivors.
Devastated relatives watched.
Emilio Vega, who lost his wife, told media his wife had refused to leave their home before disaster struck.
“I told my wife, we have to wait for the rain to pass and then we’ll leave but she was worried about the house, that it was going to get flooded. ‘Leave everything,’ I told her,” Vega said.
The rainfall caused flooding and mudslides across the Central American nation.
Last year, Guatemala had one of its worst ever natural disasters when nearly 300 people died in a mudslide in Santa Catarina Pinula on the southeastern flank of Guatemala City.
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016
