Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Guatemala City (Agenzia Fides) - Dead, injured, and many left homeless, destroyed homes, roads covered with mud, isolated communities: there is still not yet an exact account of the damage left from Tropical Storm Agatha, which struck Central America last week. So far, according to official figures, 152 people have died and 93 are missing. Guatemala is the country that has suffered most from the storm and the situation is very critical.
Pope Benedict XVI urged the international community to send aid to Guatemala. In a telegram signed by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Holy Father expressed his condolences to Guatemala for the victims of the tragedy and said he was "deeply saddened" by the tragedy that struck Guatemala, asking the Christian community to express "sentiments of in collaborating in the reconstruction of devastated areas." The Holy Father urges the international community, institutions, and all people of good will to offer "fraternal solidarity, effective help to overcome these difficult times."
In a report published on May 31 by the President of Guatemala, Alvaro Colom, it says that more than 155,000 people were evacuated. The destruction was greater due to a volcanic eruption that had occurred in previous days. The volcano Pacaya, located 50 kilometers south of Guatemala City, has covered the city in ash and forced the closure of La Aurora International Airport, which partially prevented the relief effort.
The Catholic Church, through Caritas Guatemala and the various dioceses, has taken steps to help the poorest who have lost what little they had. Archbishop Victor Hugo Palma, Bishop of Escuintla, issued a statement from the Guatemalan Bishops' Conference in which he asks all people to respond to these difficult times with faith and brotherly love: "No one in Guatemala is free of the effects of these disasters, so we should be the ones to offer that little or a lot we have to those who have lost everything... " reads the letter sent to Fides from the Diocese of Escuintla.
Although Guatemala was the Central American country most affected by these natural disasters, it is not the only one. In El Salvador, for example, the press has spoken of about 10,000 people forced from their homes by the storm, about 95% of roads in El Salvador were damaged, and at least 10 people died. In Honduras, the situation is very different. According to a statement issued by the Standing Committee of Contingencies (COPEC), 17 people died due to the rains, a person is missing, and four are injured. In addition, 3,227 people have fled their homes and 3,168 are refugees in relief camps. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 06/04/2010)
