At least 18 people, including ten children, are missing in Guatemala after a river flood caused by heavy rains that devastated several precarious homes in the capital, civil security and the army announced on Monday.
The “river flood destroyed the homes in the Dios Es Fiel neighborhood, located under the El Naranjo bridge,” Rodolfo García, spokesman for the National Coordination for Disaster Reduction (Conred, civil security), told reporters.
The organization reports in a preliminary report that “18 people are missing and six homes are seriously damaged.”
Despite the prohibition by the authorities, hundreds of precarious homes have been built on the banks of this river, which collects a large part of the capital’s wastewater. According to Conred, emergency services are working to try to find the missing people.
Buried houses
Army spokesman Rubén Téllez confirmed the number of 18 people missing and said 15 members of the army’s humanitarian brigade were participating in the search operations.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Monday, after heavy rains on Sunday.
Tons of water, stones, earth and debris buried the tin houses in this disadvantaged area.
“It was like a tornado, the river was strong, it destroyed several houses, unfortunately the entire area disappeared,” testified Esaú González, a resident of the affected neighborhood. “Unfortunately in Guatemala there is no housing policy and that is why we are here,” stressed the 42-year-old man.
Families forced to settle in risk areas
“The river took away entire families. Unfortunately we knew the risks, but if we are here it is out of necessity,” explained another resident of the neighborhood, Marvin Cabrera, a 36-year-old motorcycle delivery driver.
Thousands of people in Guatemala, where 59% of the 17.7 million inhabitants live in poverty, have been forced to build their homes in areas at risk, including flooding, due to lack of housing.
According to the Guatemalan Chamber of Construction (CGC) and the National Association of Home Builders (Anacovi), approximately two million homes are missing in the country.
Source: BFM TV
