Tropical storm kills 12 in Guatemala

[Judi Lynn]

Tropical storm kills 12 in Guatemala
Updated: 2010-05-30 09:59

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn.nyud.net:8090/world/images/attachement/jpg/site1/20100530/0013729ece6b0d6c0b7456.jpg

Pedestrians try to avoid being splashed by a passing car in the rain
caused by Tropical Storm Agatha in Guatemala City May 29, 2010.
Guatemala declared a state of emergency on Saturday as heavy rain
from Tropical Storm Agatha lashed the Central American nation, killing
at least four people and forcing hundreds from their homes.

GUATEMALA CITY - Tropical storm Agatha has left 12 people dead and 11 missing in Guatemala, and forced the evacuation of about 3,000, officials said Saturday.

Emergency officials said the fatalities include two adults and two children who were killed when their home was buried in a mudslide in Alomolonga, about 200 km west of the capital.

Guatemala has declared a state of emergency as Agatha, the first named storm of the current Pacific hurricane season, picked up momentum.

The storm was hitting Guatemala and the neighboring El Salvador with a maximum sustained wind speed of 75 km per hour.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-05/30/content_9908409.htm

[Judi Lynn]

1. How DO you follow an act like the destructive volcano which killed 3 people?

http://www.rutahsa.com.nyud.net:8090/pacaya3m.jpg

First Pacaya volcano.

http://www.cjad.com.nyud.net:8090/files/feeds/2_1_5982342_GUA110-529_2010_083256_low.jpg http://www.am1150.ca.nyud.net:8090/files/feeds/2_1_5982532_GUA109-529_2010_090416_low.jpg http://media.lakewyliepilot.com.nyud.net:8090/smedia/2010/05/29/15/752-187Guatemala_Storm_Agatha.sff.embedded.prod_affiliate.115.jpg

http://news.xinhuanet.com.nyud.net:8090/english2010/world/2010-05/30/13323165_21n.jpg

Now the storm.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Agatha storm deaths rise across Central America

A powerful tropical storm in Central America has left at least 99 people dead in floods and mudslides.

The worst-hit country was Guatemala, where officials say at least 82 people died. Nine were killed in El Salvador and at least eight in Honduras.

Storm Agatha swept in from the Pacific Ocean on Saturday, bringing torrential rains that added to disruption caused by a volcano erupting in Guatemala.

The storm is dissipating but more heavy rain is forecast for the next few days.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/latin_america/10195619.stm

[Judi Lynn]

3. Had not heard the new figures, yet. This is horrendous.

The combination of the terrain and the climate is lethal in Central and South America. These events are so intense, and frequent. Horrendous. All this and a non-stop battle as the powerful attempt to beat down the helpless poor, beat them down so hard they will be finally afraid, or unable to resist.

[Judi Lynn]

4. Death toll of storm Agatha in Guatemala rises to 123

Death toll of storm Agatha in Guatemala rises to 123
June 01, 2010

The death toll of the storm Agatha in Guatemala rose to 123, said Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom on Monday evening.

The number of missing people also rose to 90; the number of evacuated people is of more than 151,000.

The Guatemalan government has opened 40 gathering centers in the country to receive food, blankets and other aid.

Agatha whipped Guatemala for 18 continuous hours during the weekend and it also damaged at least 11,000 buildings.

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90852/7007714.html

~~~~~
Tropical Storm Agatha death toll rises to 135
Posted : Tue, 01 Jun 2010 03:36:16 GMT
By : dpa

Guatemala City/Tegucigalpa, Honduras - Heavy rain from Tropical Storm Agatha has killed 135 people in Central America, where more than 150,000 people have been evacuated since last week because of flooding.

In Guatemala, which has been worst affected by the rains, authorities have counted 109 deaths and scores injured as the toll continued to mount Monday.

More than 100,000 people were evacuated from endangered areas in Guatemala. About half the deaths have occurred in Chimaltenango province.

In Honduras, the death toll was 17, and nine people died in El Salvador.

Authorities in all three countries reported serious damage to homes and infrastructure from the storm. Agatha is the first named storm of this year's Pacific hurricane season.

Heavy rainfall from the storm reached into southern Mexico.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/326558,tropical-storm-agatha-death-toll-rises-to-135.html

~~~~~
TUESDAY Jun 01, 2010 01:06 ET

Tropical Storm Agatha kills 150 in Central America
By JUAN CARLOS LLORCA, Associated Press

Flooding and landslides from the season's first tropical storm have killed at least 150 people and made thousands homeless in Central America, officials said.

Dozens of people were missing and emergency crews struggled to reach isolated communities cut off by washed-out roads and collapsed bridges caused by Tropical Storm Agatha.

The sun emerged Monday in hardest-hit Guatemala, where officials reported 123 dead and at least 90 missing. In the department of Chimaltenango -- a province west of Guatemala City -- landslides buried dozens of rural Indian communities and killed at least 60 people, Gov. Erick de Leon said.

Flooding and landslides from the season's first tropical storm have killed at least 150 people and made thousands homeless in Central America, officials said.

Dozens of people were missing and emergency crews struggled to reach isolated communities cut off by washed-out roads and collapsed bridges caused by Tropical Storm Agatha.

The sun emerged Monday in hardest-hit Guatemala, where officials reported 123 dead and at least 90 missing. In the department of Chimaltenango -- a province west of Guatemala City -- landslides buried dozens of rural Indian communities and killed at least 60 people, Gov. Erick de Leon said.

More:
http://www.salon.com/wires/allwires/2010/05/31/D9G29ACO0_tropical_weather/index.html

[dipsydoodle]

5. Rescuers search for survivors as Agatha toll tops 150

Emergency workers in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador are struggling to get aid to communities cut off by Tropical Storm Agatha.

The storm has left at least 150 people dead since Saturday, most of them in Guatemala.

Rescuers are digging through mud and rubble in search of dozens of people still missing after landslides destroyed entire communities.

>

The Guatemalan authorities said 123 people were known to have died, while in Honduras 14 people were killed, and nine in El Salvador.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/latin_america/10200440.stm

[Judi Lynn]

6. Tropical Storm Agatha Deaths Rise To 179 In Central America

Tropical Storm Agatha Deaths Rise To 179 In Central America
JUAN CARLOS LLORCA | 06/ 1/10 01:50 PM |

GUATEMALA CITY — Rural villagers used hoes and pick axes to hunt for victims of landslides that have killed at least 179 people in Central America while officials in Guatemala's capital tried to cope with a vast sinkhole that swallowed a clothing factory.

Thousands remained homeless and dozens still missing following the season's first tropical storm. Rescue crews struggled to reach isolated communities to distribute food and water.

"This is a total tragedy," said Jose Vicente Samayoa, president of a neighborhood group in Amatitlan, a flooded town south of Guatemala's capital.

Officials in Guatemala reported 152 dead but said 100 people were still missing. In the department of Chimaltenango – a province west of Guatemala City – landslides buried rural Indian communities and killed at least 60 people.

More:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/01/tropical-storm-agatha-dea_n_596623.html

[Judi Lynn]

7. Fallen bridges hamper Guatemala storm rescue

Fallen bridges hamper Guatemala storm rescue
By Herbert Hernandez, Reuters June 1, 2010 4:30 PM

GUATEMALA CITY - Collapsed roads and highway bridges complicated rescue efforts in Guatemala Tuesday after Tropical Storm Agatha drenched Central America, burying homes under mud and killing at least 178 people.

Dozens of people were still missing and rescue teams struggled to reach remote rural communities after the storm cut off roads and destroyed up to 18 major road bridges and dozens of smaller footbridges.

"We're trying to get to the communities but we're finding that bridges are down and we have to walk, so it is taking so much longer," said firefighter Rony Veliz.

Some 35,000 people remained in emergency shelters three days after Agatha, the first named storm of the 2010 Pacific hurricane season, hit western Guatemala, dumping more than 3 feet of rain in places and raising concern over the coffee crop there and in El Salvador.

More:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Fallen+bridges+hamper+Guatemala+storm+rescue/3097398/story.html#ixzz0pdVUyqpF