Guatemala declares emergency as volcano erupts

[Judi Lynn]

Guatemala declares emergency as volcano erupts
Officials declare a state of emergency as the Pacaya, volcano near the capital, spews rocks and ash, killing one reporter and injuring at least 65 people.

By Ken Ellingwood, Los Angeles Times
May 29, 2010

Reporting from Mexico City —Guatemala's capital was under a state of emergency and its airport closed Friday after the Pacaya volcano spewed black ash for miles in the southern part of the country.

Television reporter Anibal Archila who had been covering the eruption was found dead by colleagues after being caught in a blizzard of rocks and debris.

More than 65 people were injured and hundreds of homes damaged, according to news reports. Officials said three children between the ages of 7 and 12 were missing.

The volcano started erupting Thursday, hurling lava and rocks and raining thick ash over Guatemala City, the capital, about 20 miles away.

President Alvaro Colom declared a state of "calamity" in two provinces of the Central American country and opened emergency shelters to accommodate some of the more than 1,700 residents evacuated from villages around the volcano. Schools were closed.

Colom cautioned residents against going outside and told motorists to avoid the eruption zone because a layer of volcanic sand covered highways.

More:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-guatemala-volcano-20100529,0,4455438.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Feurope+%28L.A.+Times+-+Europe%29

[Judi Lynn]

1. Death toll climbs to 3 from Guatemala volcano

Death toll climbs to 3 from Guatemala volcano
29 May 2010 | 02:27 | FOCUS News Agency

Guatemala City. The death toll from the eruption of a volcano in Guatemala has risen to at least three people, an official said Friday, CNN informs.

Two villagers from El Bejucal and a reporter from CNN affiliate Noti 7 were killed as a result of Thursday's eruption of the Pacaya volcano, said David de Leon, a spokesman for the national disaster commission.

The three victims were crushed by rocks strewn by the volcano.

Pacaya, located about 18 miles (30 kilometers) south of Guatemala City, began spewing ash and soot Thursday evening.
Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom declared a state of calamity for 15 days and called for calm as the eruption spread ash over the capital, prompting evacuations and shutting down the city's international airport.

Four people were missing as evacuations continued, the president said.

At least 1,800 people have been placed in shelters after four villages near the volcano were evacuated, de Leon said.

More:
http://www.focus-fen.net/?id=n221163

[rabs]

2. Guatemala City getting a mantle of ashes

[Judi Lynn]

3. Jeez! That's a lot of ashes, isn't it? Wow.

I heard on tv this week that the ash clouds contain tiny glass-like slivers, and in great concentration they would simply cut your lungs to shreds.

It's hard to imagine all that ash material simply fell from the the sky. Unbelievable.

[Judi Lynn]

4. Guatemala girds for first Pacific storm of season

Guatemala girds for first Pacific storm of season
By Herbert Hernandez Herbert Hernandez – 2 hrs 35 mins ago

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – Guatemalans prepared on Saturday for the arrival of Tropical Storm Agatha, the first named storm of the 2010 Pacific hurricane season, which was expected to bring heavy flooding to some areas.

Emergency workers reported rivers were already swollen by heavy rain and warned flooding could be worse than usual due to ash from the erupting Pacaya volcano south of the capital that has blocked drainage systems.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Agatha formed on Saturday morning and had maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour. Agatha was located 170 miles west-southwest of the port of San Jose in Guatemala and was expected to make landfall in Guatemala on Sunday.

The Miami-based hurricane center said the storm would dump up to 20 inches of rain over southeastern Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador which could trigger flash floods and mudslides.

More:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100529/wl_nm/us_storm_centralamerica

[Judi Lynn]

5. Cuban Health Professionals in Guatemala Ready for Emergency Situation after Volcano Eruption

Cuban Health Professionals in Guatemala Ready for Emergency Situation after Volcano Eruption

HAVANA, Cuba, May 29 (acn) Cuban health professionals currently working in Guatemala said they are ready to provide whatever health services are necessary after the emergency situation created in this country with the eruption of the Pacaya volcano.

The national coordinator of the Cuban medical brigade in Guatemala, Henry Carreño, told Prensa Latina news agency that they already expressed this willingness to the Guatemalan Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare.

“We are waiting for their response,” Carreño said and added that the 26 members of the Cuban medical brigade in the department of Escuintla —where the volcano is located— are safe and in good health conditions as they live and work far away from the area affected by the eruption.

“We only had to evacuate one member of the brigade from the department of Amatilan because that area is close to the volcano,” he pointed out.

Prensa Latina reported that the Pacaya volcano began a new eruption phase on Friday after an emergency situation was created on Thursday with its first eruption.

More:
http://www.cubanews.ain.cu/2010/0529colaboradorescubanos.htm