One Guatemalan Firefighter killed, Another Severely Injured in Truck Explosion

Morales, Izabal, Guatemala- Ariel Josué Montes Estrada was killed instantly and Firefighter Carlos Francisco Chacon was severely injured in an explosion during operations at a dual tractor trailer incident on Guatemala’s CA-9 highway near Morales. in southeastern Guatemala. Both firefighters are members of the 73 Company, Bomberos Voluntarios. Two civilians and a police officer were also injured.

Firefighter Ariel Josué Montes Estrada, 23, was just completing his first year as a permanente (professional firefighter) . Proud of his new career, he was gregarious, helpful and enthusiastic. We going to miss sharing fire station pizza with him.

PRESENTE

Details of the incident are still unclear, but initial reports indicate the firefighters were working to extinguish a small fire near the saddle tanks of the two tractor trailers in the accident when something exploded in one of the trailers, hurling large sections of sheet metal in all directions, and propelling the largest part of one of the trailers several hundred feet into an adjacent field.

Firefighter Estrada, leading the attack on the hose line was struck in the head by a large fragment and died instantly on scene. Firefighter Chacon was struck in the upper body and received multiple clavicular fractures and a severe, near severing injury to his arm. He has been transported to a hospital in Puerto Barrios where he is undergoing emergency surgery tonight. He is cautiously expected to recover from his injuries.

While the investigation is ongoing, it is reported that the police are looking into the possibility that one of the trucks was carrying an unmarked hazardous material that may have been the cause of the explosion.

Carlos Chacon helped to guide several AMEDICAusa relief missions along with other 73 Company firefighters in the small villages around Morales in the aftermath of dual hurricanes Eta and Iota in late 2020 and early 2021.

“AMEDICAusa stands ready to help the families of the firefighters and the 73rd Company of the Bomberos Voluntarios in any way they need.” said AMEDICAusa President Neale Brown.

“They have been of great service to anyone who needs assistance, and it is time we returned the favor.”

Hurricane Eta Leaves Guatemala Reeling

Hurricane Eta slows to tropical storm and dumps two feet of rain in parts of Guatemala. UPDATE: Hurricane Iota Now Predicted to Strike Central America As Category 5 Storm

Aldea Quejá (al-DAY-a kay-HA) was a sleepy little village of some three hundred or so homes, situated along an unimproved dirt track, high in the mountains of Guatemala’s Department of Alta Verapaz. It boasted a small rural elementary school, a soccer field, a Catholic Church and two smaller, storefront evangelical churches… and not much else. Its people are largely campesinos – agricultural workers, who toil on small farms, or workers in small shops and stalls selling local produce and odds and ends.

On Thursday, November 5th, the village of Quejá ceased to exist.

It started raining on Saturday. Not abnormal, it is the rainy season here in Guatemala, and a little two-hour rainstorm in the afternoon is the rule. But this one didn’t stop. In fact, it began to rain harder and harder. For days. Torrents of rain.

By Wednesday the “highway” was more river than road. The three small gentle mountain springs that provided the village with water were raging torrents. And still it rained. Hard.

On Thursday, at about 1 p.m., the mountain above the town all but collapsed. A deadly slurry of hundreds of thousands of tons of mud, rock, trees and water cascaded down on Quejá burying the unfortunate and leaving the rest homeless and many miles from the nearest support.

Rain and Road Washouts Hamper Rescue Efforts

News of the landslide reached the nearest emergency responders, Company 86 of Guatemala’s Volunteer Firefighter Corps (CVB), in San Cristóbal Verapaz , a little later.

On a good day the drive from their little fire station to the village takes well over an hour. Though only about 15 miles road miles away, even the main roads in this part of Guatemala are tortuous, steep and windy. This was not a good day.

Fire Company 86 was forced to abandon their vehicles on the main highway and attempted to reach the village, about 2 miles further, on foot. They ascended a steep, mud-slicked track and slogged through mud sometimes chest deep. Footing was so difficult that they frequently resorted to ropes to haul themselves over – or through – the obstacles. Military units were responding from a second direction. Neither group was able to reach the village before treacherous conditions, darkness and continuing rains forced retreat and a halt for the night.

The rescue effort resumed at 4 a.m. on Friday, reinforced by a group of the Municipal firefighter’s search and rescue team. Slackening rains allowed Company 86 finally reach Quejá about midmorning. The small Guatemalan military unit arrived shortly after.

Rescue Arrives

The first survivors of the landslide were found mostly huddled in one of the few concrete block buildings that had survived. Hungry, tired, wet and cold, they were gathered in small groups and evacuated on foot by the firefighters and soldiers. Children, the aged and the injured were often carried on the backs of the rescuers back down the mountain. Their destination another small village on the highway, Santa Elena, where a temporary refuge was being set up.

Meanwhile, the remaining firefighters began the difficult, and often grim, task of locating any survivors that may have been trapped under the landslide. According to the rescuers, for the first day they still heard screams from children and women for help. There are an estimated 100 people underneath the slide. Tools are in short supply and the mix of mud, stone and trees is described as like digging in cement. Recovery efforts will continue but with every hour the chance of rescue dims. Continuing landslides from the mountain above makes it very dangerous work.

It is unlikely that the people of Aldea Quejá will ever be able to return to the village where they made their lives. It is likely to be designated a national cemetery and the residents, mostly the poorest of the poor will have to seek lives elsewhere.

Scenes repeated all over Guatemala

Some 50 miles to the northwest lies Aldea Chabaj. A very similar mountain village in the Department of Huehuetenango, it too has suffered a major landslide. With similar tragic results.

Suffering the same infrastructure problems as Alta Verapaz, this slide is at nearly 10,000 feet in the high mountains. Walter Gomez, commander of Huhuetenango’s 17 Company CVB firefighters says the main highway into the area is blocked by road collapse and multiple tractor trailers. This is preventing search and rescue teams from other departments coming to aid the few resources under his command. Villages in Huehuetenango – Poxlac, Las Brisas 1 and 2, San Carlos and Chibal – had to wait many hours before these resources began to arrive.

What Goes Up Must come down: Flooding in the lowlands

The Department of Izabal, on the east coast of Guatemala is perhaps the hardest hit. Not only did they get the brunt of the storm, but all the water that fell in the mountains will drain to this area. Widespread catastrophic flooding has stranded many communities, washed out bridges and roadways and submerged whole towns. Puerto Barrios, Guatemala’s only gulf coast seaport, is not only flooded, but is cut off from the rest of the country. This will severely limit the availability of supplies and foodstuffs that normally flow through the port. Most of the bridges on the highway from Puerto Barrios to Guatemala city have failed.

Petén, home of the most famous Maya ruins, suffers a similar fate. Petén is the largest of Guatemala’s Departments, but also has the fewest emergency services. Zacapa and Chiquimula, near the Honduran border, have suffered severe flooding and bridge failures as well.

Hurricane Eta is a long term disaster.

Eta’s damage goes far beyond its immediate effects on the people and structures currently involved. The storm also destroyed the current crops on which the country, particularly the poor, depend. The largest part of the rural population are subsistence farmers or agricultural workers. Many will now be not only homeless, but without food and without income to rebuild.

AMEDICAusa and Hurricane Eta.

First, our staff and volunteers are safe. We are all currently on the pacific side of Guatemala or in Guatemala City where the storm was not nearly so bad. We will continue to operate with as little risk to our personnel as is possible.

Our plan is this, in order of priority and immediate need:

Continue to support the emergency services / firefighters during emergency operations. We have a very large airlift of equipment and supplies ready to fly as soon as the Air Force gives us the word. Our partners The REDS Team delivered another airlift to Guatemala today. We remain in contact with the fire companies and commanders in the field to assess and fulfill immediate needs.
Support shelters housing and feeding those who have lost their homes to the storm.
Support efforts to aid the children and their education long term.

This is a rapidly developing situation, but there is a lot to do both in the short term and long term. We would greatly appreciate whatever support you can give us, particularly cash donations.

UPDATE: Hurricane IOTA

Hurricane Iota is now approaching Central America and is poised to strike as recovery efforts from Eta are just beginning.

The National Hurricane Center has updated Iota’s strength to a Category 5 Hurricane. It will continue to strengthen until it makes landfall tonight. While this is a wind speed measurement, it correlates strongly with both the size and rainfall totals expected with the storm. Its path is also expected to slowly cross Central America, rather than swinging back into the Atlantic as did Eta. This will exacerbate the disaster following Eta and may greatly widen the area of destruction in Guatemala. Iota’s arrival will be two weeks to the day after Eta.

Embattled Nahualá Firefighters host AMEDICAusa visit

Nahualá firefighters have many obstacles to overcome, not the least of which is the altitude of their home. Located at just over 8000 feet, even cars can have difficulty with the lack of air pressure. The roads into their picturesque town crest at over 10,000 feet. Like your grandfather’s school, it is truly uphill both ways.

Our friend, Francisco Chox, known as El Chivo, the goat, has invited us here for a tour of the station and to meet the other firefighters of this highland town. Chox is widely known in the Guatemalan Fire Service community for having completed his final physical skills exam at the fire academy while wearing only the traditional Maya traje under his airpack and helmet. This makes our knees hurt to even think about. He still wears the traje on duty, though he jokes, NOT in a fire.

Francisco has often travelled far to attend AMEDICAusa classes in other parts of Guatemala. So we felt it was only fair to visit Nahualá in return.

A trip to Nahualá: 3 Hours in Second Gear

Travel in Guatemala is, at best, difficult. Driving from the pacific lowlands into the mountains can be tortuous. The roads are narrow, serpentine exercises in frustration. Swerving from lane to lane around giant potholes, immensely overloaded trucks grind their way up the road at walking speed. Every small village boasts a series of túmulos, carnivorous speed bumps, that will destroy your undercarriage if hit at speed. (Tire and wheel shops are a fixture on the road next to these hazards.) Chicken buses, brightly painted, converted former U.S. school buses and the most common form of motorized transportation in Guatemala, pass you uphill and around corners, daring descending vehicles to collide. (and they do so in alarming numbers.)

Divided highways become two lane roads, then one way, cobblestone streets without warning. While Google Maps is surprisingly useful in Guatemala, only the foolish or suicidal would ever trust a shortcut provided by the service. Add rain and the odd landslide or two, and we begin to practice our repertoire of Spanish curses. Our trip is only 60 road miles, but it takes a full three hours to complete.

From Tropical Summer to Eternal Spring

Our “base of operations” in Retalhuleu, Guatemala is in the extreme heat and humidity of the lowlands. We are pummeled by fierce afternoon thunderstorms but is sunny and very hot in the morning. It is a land generally covered in sugar cane, palms and mango fincas outside of the city. The terrain is flat, and only occasionally broken by a river or small hill. The smoking Volcán Santiaguito, one of three Guatemalan Volcanoes actively erupting, marks our departure from the lowlands, and our slow climb into the spring time weather of the mountains. Palm and banana trees give way to pines as we near the community of Nahualá. There is a 25 degree drop in temperature and a welcome breeze as we near the summit of the Pan American highway. Lago Atitlán, one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, can be glimpsed in the distance.

Nahualá is a K’iché Maya community.
Most of the residents speak K’iché as their primary language with spanish as their second.
As many as thirty percent do not speak Spanish at all.

K’iché is a melodious language, though, using sounds that do not exist in english or spanish, difficult for a gringo tongue. Inexplicably, it is odd to hear it spoken on the fire dispatch cellular telephone, as if an ancient language does not belong on modern technology. Substituting Spanish for the words that don’t exist in K’iché comes second nature to the firefighters. An interesting two and three language conversation arose, testing our patience as we groped for explanations and translations of fire department terminology.

Nahualá Firefighters: Rolling a Stone Uphill

Over 50,000 people live in Nahualá. Since most are indigenous Maya, most are impoverished. Protecting this town is one small fire company, 77 Compañía, Bomberos Voluntarios. The Nahualá firefighters are six “permanentes” (paid, career firefighters) and six more volunteers. The paid firefighters work a three man shift, on a 24 on and 24 off schedule for about $300 usd a month. Their fire engine is an elderly japanese truck, with 600 gallons of water and 100 feet of 1 1/2″ firehose. That’s it. No supply hose. There are no fire hydrants. There is no water tender (tanker). Meant for civilian use, what they call “firefighting” nozzles began life as standpipe nozzles in an American building somewhere. Of course, their bunker gear is threadbare and holed as well. Additionally, three of their twelve fire helmets date back to World War II, the others to at least the 1980’s.

Emergency Medical Care in the Cordillera

As in the U.S., in Guatemala the most common service provided by the Fire Department in emergency medical care. The firefighters are the primary source of EMS and ambulance transport throughout the country. Nahualá is no exception. The hospitals serving Nahualá are an hour or more away in either direction. Responding to these calls are two serviceable ambulance units, one a converted toyota van, the other a camper shell equipped pickup.

The van has a stretcher, an ancient Ferno model 30. Once common in the U.S. they are now largely abandoned because of the difficulty loading it into an ambulance, particularly here. (The K’iché are a diminutive people, it is the only place where we feel tall.) They can lift the stretcher only by sheer force of will. They are forced to lash it in place with rope because the floor mechanism that holds it in place is not available. On the other hand, only an old, unwheeled, wood and canvas military stretcher services the other. For bandages, equipment and other medical supplies, they rely on donations.

We talk over recent Nahualá recent calls, “War Stories” as they are referred to in the fire service. The nearest mutual aid fire companies are over an hour away. A month ago a tractor trailer plowed into a large group of people trying to assist a previous motor vehicle accident. The impact killed nineteen people and injured dozens more. Yesterday they spent eight hours on a mutual aid call retrieving the body of a french tourist who managed to walk over a cliff near Lake Atitlán.

AMEDICAusa to provide assistance

There is more to our trip than just a friendly chat. It is a chance to take a detailed look at what the fire company has, what they need and how we might help. After all, our disaster relief mission is training and equipping the fire and rescue services of Guatemala. An integral part of that process is evaluating the local services and sending our resources where they will do the most good.

Nahualá meets all of our criteria. A large population with a dedicated but under equipped fire company. No nearby mutual aid companies to assist, so we will not be duplicating services.. A willingness to train and work hard.

All we need is a little of your help.

Want to help in Nahualá and other impoverished areas of Guatemala? Donate a little of your hard earned money here. Contact us about donating used but serviceable fire equipment, PPE or apparatus. Get fully involved by joining us on a training mission in Guatemala. It is an experience you will not soon forget.

Click here to make a difference .

Your donation to AMEDICAusa, of whatever amount, helps save lives in Central America

AMEDICAusa, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Public Charity.

IRS # 81-0842688

Donations to AMEDICAusa, Inc. are tax deductible under IRC section 170.

In Guatemala We Just Call it Friday.

AMEDICAusa delivers relief supplies to the victims of Volcán Fuego in Guatemala

Guatemala, Central America – Friday, October 12, 2018 – Heavy rains and storms are causing flooding and evacuations across five departments (states). Volcán Fuego erupts, and a lahar descends along its slopes prompting more evacuations. Major roads are cutoff by landslides. A magnitude 5.8 earthquake shakes the Department of Escuintla. Volcán Pacaya, only nineteen miles from the nation’s capitol, erupts sending a cascade of lava down it’s sides.

In the United States, were this to happen all in one day and all in an area the size of Tennessee, we would call it a major disaster. In Guatemala, it’s called “Friday”. – Neale Brown, AMEDICAusa

This is just one day’s news from the country in which we work. This is why we spend so much of our time and effort assisting with the training and equipping the firefighters and other emergency services here in Central America.

There is no major airlift of technicians and relief supplies, no giant, multinational effort to assist. It’s up to the local firefighters, underpaid, under equipped, and stretched very thinly, to provide what rescue and relief they can. With second hand gear, often of 1980’s vintage…aging and often unsound vehicles, tools that are several generations outdated and little in the way of personal protection, the Bomberos are Guatemala’s only line of defense.

Getting to a Disaster before it happens

While most disaster relief organizations rely on their warehouses of supplies, large “relief” funds and on-call response teams, we believe that there is a better, more effective way to provide the relief. For large scale disasters, the reality is that it takes a minimum of three to seven days to get foreign teams on the ground. Once on the ground, it takes several more days to get organized. Only then do they begin to make an impact. This is helpful to the survivors, but no real rescues are made. For smaller incidents, unless it is particularly noteworthy, there is little, if any, international relief at all.

The sad fact is, those persons injured, lost or entrapped in a disaster need to be reached within the first few hours after the event. The local first responders, the firefighters and paramedics in the disaster zone, are the folks who truly save lives.

By pro-actively concentrating our efforts on training and equipping these men and women, AMEDICAusa, our partners and our donors, make a more effective use of our dollars. We have a much longer reach, and effect more lives then just showing up after the fact. And that kind of relief aid can save lives every day, on the incidents that do not make the international news.

Even on Friday.

Volcán Fuego

Flooding in San Marcos

Earthquake in Escuintla

Highway blocked by tree.

Volcán Pacaya

Click here to make a difference .

Your donation to AMEDICAusa, of whatever amount, helps save lives in Central America

AMEDICAusa, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Public Charity.IRS # 81-0842688 Donations to AMEDICAusa, Inc. are tax deductible under IRC section 170.

San Miguel los Lotes – Guatemala’s New Pompeii

Dinning Table where a family was just sitting down for lunch in San Miguel los Lotes, Guatemala (photo: AMEDICAusa)

Nothing was Unusual in San Miguel los Lotes

Zona Cero, Guatemala – A quiet, sunny, Sunday afternoon in the small Guatemalan town. The only day off for most of the villagers who commonly work sunrise to sunset six days a week, toiling in the fields of nearby fincas or tending one of the myriad Tiendas (tiny convenience stores) that dot the towns of the country. Some are just home from church, some are sleeping off Saturday’s ritual night out. Kids are playing inside and out. Dogs roam the streets. Mothers and grandmothers are setting lunch, Sunday’s main meal, on tables outside. Dominating the skyline above is Guatemala’s most active volcano, Volcán Fuego, emitting a pretty normal plume of ash and steam…

https://www.amedicausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Volcan-Fuego-Eruption.mp4

Volcán Fuego Eruption – June 3, 2018, San Miguel los Lotes (Caution: Strong images)

Gray. Just Gray.

An overwhelming monochrome moonscape strikes you as soon as you arrive. As if someone has filtered out all the color from the world and left only the slight variations of tone found in old photographs. What little color remains is muted, dusty and somehow sadder for its rarity. A child’s shoe here, a discarded plastic cup there… but not nearly enough to brighten the landscape. What few leaves remain on the scorched and dying trees are dull, drooping and grey/tan. A sudden and very hot winter has come to the land of eternal spring. At first, you see what appears to be a scattering of small houses, dusty, dirty, and empty. It is only when you look closer that you realize that you are looking at the second story, the single story residences having been completely buried.

This is, in fact, one of the chief dangers of San Miguel los Lotes now.

A Dangerous Path

There is the Volcano, of course. It remains active and new eruptions are not only possible, but likely. We have posted a lookout just in case there is any activity during our survey. We are five miles from the main vent, close enough that there is some danger. Lahars are a threat as well, but less so, since there haven’t been heavy rains in the last two or three days. Dust is less of a problem since the rains have compacted much of the finer ash that would pose a heath risk. Still, we are careful not to scuff our feet or raise more dust than we absolutely have to.

Partially excavated for access, the main street of San Miguel los Lotes (photo: AMEDICAusa)

No, the most serious risk we face at the moment is the buried, unmarked houses. Most have laminate roofs, either metal or fiberglass, not very well supported in the best of times, now carrying the load of many tons of ash and rock. Some have already collapsed, leaving sandy, crater-like depressions in the earth, adding to the feeling you are on the moon.

It would take just a little more weight, say your footstep, to collapse a roof, drop you into the void and bury you in the ash that followed.

San Miguel los Lotes Before & After Eruption (photos: DigitalGlobe)

Learning from Disaster

AMEDICAusa had, of course, been active in the disaster recovery from the day of the eruption. Messages from our friends and firefighter colleagues in Guatemala started pouring in within minutes of the event. Clearly it was much worse than the initial news reports. It became quickly evident that there was severe shortages of even the most simple of rescue and emergency medical supplies. That became our priority. Our staff and volunteers were engaged in the effort to get supplies to the shelters, hospitals and first responders for the first two weeks after the disaster.But identifying needs, arranging donations and distribution of supplies from the States is not the same as being on the ground.

To learn what was done and what wasn’t, what worked and what didn’t, I needed to go to Zona Cero.

When in Doubt, Call the Fire Department

My first call was to my long time friend, Comandante Vinicio Calderon, Chief of 32 Compañía, Bomberos Voluntarios, in Patulul. In addition to his duties as Chief of Department, Calderon serves as commander of an entire regional division of Guatemalan’s Fire Service, some 16 cities, including the area near Volcán del Fuego. Calderon was part of the command team, and intimately involved in the emergency response to the eruption.

Zona Cero is a restricted area, for many reasons, but primarily because of the dangers involved in just being there. No one is allowed in without legitimate need. CONRED (Guatemala’s version of FEMA) keeps a tight reign on access. Even with prior arrangement, it took several hours and a lot of paperwork to obtain my unrestricted pass from CONRED. (I was asked for next of kin information and to which hospital I wished to be transported as well as my normal travel documents… an ominous touch.) They do not allow media access and the press has congregated in a small, semi-permanent knot around the zone’s roadblock.

Neale Brown and Comandante Vinicio Calderon at San Miguel los Lotes (photo: 32 Cia. Bomberos Voluntarios)

On The Road

The military counts people in and out, as even with an official pass, only so many are permitted in the zone at a time. We were held at the military guard station for over an hour and were allowed in only when enough workers had exited to counter our entrance.

The first half mile of the journey into the zone from the checkpoint is eerie. There is a fine coating of ash over everything, but for the most part it looks undamaged, but deserted. Houses, stores, even cars stand ready for use, but remain empty. Occasional stray dogs wander alongside the road. I wonder who, if anyone, takes care of them. A low, gray, rocky hill in the middle of the highway marks our entry into the true Zona Cero. Beyond this point the pavement ends, covered in hundreds of thousands of tons of volcanic ash and rock. A highway crew is parked next to the buried village. They are working feverishly to reopen Ruta 14, the main highway linking western Guatemala to Antigua.

A Walk on the Moon

Accompanied by Comandante Calderon and three of his firefighters who were here during the initial response to the eruption, we climbed the ash hill into the ruins of the village. There is a smell. At first, just a faint whiff of sulfur, then the strong smell of corruption and decay. It waxes and wanes as we walk, but it is always there. An awful reminder that this is now officially a cemetery, with a great many bodies still unrecovered. The Fire Chief relates how difficult it was to abandon the recovery effort.

We walked through some of the buildings that were still accessible. A neighborhood restaurant and bar, the chairs and tables scattered and overturned. The small kitchen of a home. The shrine to Virgen de Guadalupe that somehow survived the destruction of the rest of its building. The firefighters pointed out where they were able to affect rescues, and the more numerous places where they recovered the dead. Search markings left by the responders remain on the walls of those structures above the ash. A paint mark meaning three dead found here, or more commonly, no entry, no survivors. Over there, they say, is where we recovered the children, indicating a breached cement block wall where five children were found clutching each other on a bed. I’ve seen the photograph. I won’t reproduce it here.

Firefighters deal with their burning boots at San Miguel los Lotes

Firefighters faced increasing injuries, damage to equipment, and were finally chased out of the zone, at a dead run, in an emergency evacuation due to a lahar. Command ordered all rescue and recovery efforts to cease. Difficult as it was, the risk to the responders outweighed the bleak prospects for any remaining rescues. It was unpopular. Families wanted their loved ones recovered. Firefighters wanted to keep working.

It was, however, the correct decision.

Lessons learned and What is Needed Now?

Despite the danger, and the difficulty of the task, both mentally and physically, the firefighters didn’t want to give up. Hiking boots fell apart, the glue melting and the stitching charred by the latent heat of the debris. Gloves wore out in hours, abraded by the glass-like volcanic ash. Eyes grew red and irritated by the dust, leaking around cheap construction goggles. Coughing and sneezing from that which penetrated the masks.

Questions remain about the initial circumstances surrounding the government’s response to the disaster. The authorities were apparently meeting about whether or not to evacuate the area at the time of the eruption. This has raised something of a political firestorm, but is not related to the emergency response to the disaster after the eruption itself. By all accounts, while there were some difficulties, the fire service performed well, even heroically, in the response. There are some training issues, but the biggest problems involved equipment, or rather, the lack thereof. Boots and gloves for the responders were used up at a prodigious rate. Not designed for intense heat nor the abrasive volcanic materials what few they had were soon gone. Simple masks and goggles capable of filtering out the fine volcanic dust were in short supply.

The end of the pyroclastic flow at the furthest edge of the village. (photo: AMEDICAusa)

The Scope of the Disaster

The official toll stands at 169 fatalities, though they are only counting those victims whom they have identified. Firefighters Juan Bajxac and Antonio Castillo were killed in the eruption. Both were members of 55 Compañía CVB, Alotenango. CONRED official Juan Francisco Galindo and Police Officer Donaldo Chután Enríquez also gave their lives.

Juan Bajxac and Antonio Castillo of 55 Compañía, CVB, Alotenango, Guatemala, evacuating people from a bridge moments before their death.

Unofficially, authorities in the Guatemalan government and rescuers within Zona Cero have told us the the actual numbers are closer to 3,000 dead. Several small villages, not mapped or named, are not included. Hundreds more sustained injuries, including life threatening burns.

3,379 people remain in twelve official shelters. Thousands more being sheltered privately with family and friends.

San Miguel los Lotes has been declared a National Cemetery.

Relief Efforts Continue

The shelters for the survivors are exhausting many of their relief supplies. One shelter, the Finca de Industria in Esquintla, told me that they will run out of food on or about October 1st. They are also short of personal sanitation supplies and cleaning products. Fortunately, one of our partner organizations, Sociedad Cívico Cultural Guatemala of Chicago, Illinois, is delivering more than a truckload of supplies to the shelters this week to help ease the shortages. (Though many of the canned and dried foodstuffs they shipped have been held at the border, “until it can be determined if they are expired”. They aren’t – I helped pack a lot of them.) A lot more will be needed before the survivors can be resettled.

Plans for that are moving with glacial rapidity.

Want to help? The survivors and the first responders of the eruption of Volcán Fuego need a helping hand. You can make a donation to AMEDICAusa easily and securely here.

6.9 Earthquake strikes Southwest Guatemala

Victim is rescued from Church collapse after Guatemalan earthquake.

Early Morning Earthquake claims at least one life.

Retalhuleu, Guatemala- A violent earthquake collapsed a portion of the Catholic Church in San Sebastian, Retalhuleu, Guatemala early this morning. 30 year old Juan Francisco Esteban Javier was sleeping inside the church. Though rescued alive from the rubble by firefighters of Retalhuleu’s 11 Compañía CBV, Javier later died of his injuries at the local hospital. Sadly, the first confirmed fatality in this morning’s severe quake. An elderly woman has reportedly perished of a heart attack resulting from the temblor in nearby Malacatán, San Marcos, Guatemala.

Landslides and Damage to Buildings widespread.

Retalhuleu’s Fire Chief, Salvador Matheu, said that the older Spanish colonial buildings were the worst affected. Firefighters and city officials have been surveying the damage throughout the city.

“There is damage to the Old Cathedral and the Governor’s Palace in the historic Central Square.” said Matheu. “and even some to the Fire Station. Newer buildings haven’t been damaged as much.”

Firefighters prepare to move leaking tank of chlorine gas after earthquake.

A chlorine gas leak at the city’s water treatment plant became the most immediate problem after the rescue. The earthquake had fractured a supply line from the supply tank to the plant causing an uncontrolled release of the deadly gas.

“We don’t have hazardous materials suits, so the best we could do was move the tank as far as we could from the houses nearby, while wearing our firefighting gear.” said the chief.

In the nearby town of Santa Cruz Muluá, a portion of the old Catholic Church collapsed and the municipal building was damaged. Maydi Aguilar, an official of the municipality said “We have reports of houses damaged and collapsed both town and in the villages but, thank god, no injuries reported yet.”

The main highway linking Retalhuleu with Quetzaltenango, two of Guatemala’s largest cities, has been blocked by multiple landslides and a possible tunnel collapse.

Officials Breathe a sigh of relief after earthquake.

Reports of serious damage are coming in from firefighters and officials all around the area of the earthquake. However, most of our reports have said one thing in common. It could have been much worse. San Cristóbal, Totonicopán reported damage to buildings, but no known injuries. Quetzaltenango, Guatemala’s second largest city reported extensive damage, but few injuries. Even towns closer to the epicenter, San Marcos, Malacatán and San Pablo, report few injuries, though the power is out in those areas. The epicenter of today’s earthquake was deep and in a relatively sparsely populated region of the country. This is thought to have limited the human toll. For comparison, the 1976 Guatemala Earthquake killed 23,000 and injured 76,000 more.

Experts say aftershocks are possible over the next few weeks and maybe as strong or stronger than the original quake. Residents of the region are being urged to take precautions.

Update: 9:32 pm EST: The Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology (Insivumeh) said that in 15 hours, they had recorded 39 aftershocks with magnitudes between 3.3 and 4.6 . Prensa Libre is now reporting five (5) deaths in total. The three additional deaths are said to be cardiac related. In addition, they report seven additional traumatic injuries. Fifty (50) known landslides have blocked roads and highways in the area.

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

: Quake Damage

AMEDICAusa Receives Guatemalan Humanitarian Award

AMEDICAusa President Neale Brown receives the Monja Blanca Medal from Guatemala Minister of Defense, Maj. Gen. Williams Mansilla Fernandez.

AMEDICAusa Receives Guatemala’s Highest Civilian Award

GUATEMALA CITY– The Monja Blanca Medal was presented today to AMEDICAusa President Neale Brown. The award ceremony followed the conclusion of the organization’s annual FIre and Rescue Training School in Guatemala. The week long school brings together both firefighters and military rescue specialists from around the country to train in fire and rescue techniques. Provided in partnership with North Carolina’s REDS Team, the program enjoys wide support from both the military and fire service communities.

The medal, named for the national flower of Guatemala, is also a prestigious military decoration within the armed forces. It is awarded to those who provide exceptional humanitarian service to the people of Guatemala. Previous recipients have included Mexico’s Special Technical Rescue Team, members of CONRED (the Guatemalan Disaster Relief agency) and Officers of the military’s Unidad Humanitaria y Rescate (UHR) technical rescue team.

AMEDICAusa was recognized for their work in medical care, education, and disaster relief and training throughout Guatemala. Both Neale Brown and the Members of the REDS Team also received individual awards and certificates from the Ministry of Defense in recognition of their efforts on behalf of the people of Guatemala.

Neale Brown instructing firefighters in Guatemala (REDS Team Photo)

Humbled and Proud of Award

“This was a complete surprise and I am humbled by the award.” said Brown. ” I knew nothing about it until the ceremony had begun. I am, of course, proud of the work we do and all of the donors and volunteers who make it possible. Without the people who make it all work, like the REDS Team, we would not be able to accomplish what we have. Our job now is to continue to earn the honor every day.”

AMEDICAusa provides aid in three main areas. Besides working with the firefighters of Guatemala as part of their disaster relief efforts, they also work to provide medical care and educational support to the poor and indigenous peoples of the country. For the week after the ceremony, Brown and AMEDICAusa volunteers travelled to several different locations in Guatemala, distributing donated equipment and meeting with a variety of local officials.

Silvana Ayuso receives Monja Blanca Award

This is the second time that members of AMEDICAusa have been recognized by Guatemala for their efforts. AMEDICAusa Vice President, Silvana Ayuso, also received the award of the Monja Blanca in 2015 for her long and continued work on behalf of the people of Guatemala.

AMEDICAusa, inc. is an I.R.S. 501(C)(3) registered charity, headquartered in Frederick, Maryland.

We are always looking for volunteers who wish to help in Guatemala. Get the details here.

Donating to AMEDICAusa ‘s ongoing programs is easy. Get the details here.

Fundación esta Alojando un Clase para Bomberos Guate

Bomberos! Entrena como su vida depende de ello!

Las clases para Bomberos estarán el 3 – 7 de octubre en la Ciudad de Guatemala

Dos fundaciones de los Estados Unidos, The REDS Team, (el equipo rojos) y AMEDICAusa son compañeros en esta formación de los Bomberos guatemaltecos.

El REDS Team es un grupo famoso de especialistas de rescate tecnica. Han entrenado muchos Cuerpos de bomberos en los Estados Unidos y alrededor del mundo. Este es sus cuarto viaje a enseñar en Guatemala.

AMEDICAusa es un fundación por ayuda médico, educación y la ayuda del desastres en Guatemala y Centroamérica. Ofrecen equipos y capacitación para los bomberos y paramédicos de Guatemala.

Las clases se ofrecen en conjunto con personal rescate de el ejército que estarán presentes en la formación también.

La clases incluyen :

La seguridad y la supervivencia de los bomberos

Técnicas para el rescate del vehículo

Embalaje paciente para rescate de la montaña

Técnicas de rescate de la cuerda

La construcción de estructuras de madera para rescate

Escaleras y armazones para el rescate

…y mas. Todas las clases serán enseñadas con poca charla como es posible. La mayoría del tiempo será utilizado realmente haciendo el trabajo.

¡La Escuela es gratuita!

Con la cooperación amable del Ministerio de la Defensa, la escuela será impartida en la Base aérea antigua en la Ciudad de Guatemala. Toda la comida, el alojamiento y la formación son proporcionados gratuitamente a los que participan. Camisetas serán dadas a todos los participantes y es hasta posible que algún equipo pueda ser donado a su cuerpo de bomberos al final de semana.

¿Quién puede participar?

La capacitación esta abierta para cualquier miembro de un Cuerpo de bomberos oficial. No importa si eres municipal o voluntario (u hombre o mujer). Los participantes deberán entrenar a su propio Cuerpo de bombero. Se necesita una recomendación de un oficial de su grupo para participar. Dos bomberos de cada departamento pueden asistir. Darán la preferencia a aquellos grupos con los cuales hemos trabajado antes si las clases están llenas.

¿Cómo puedo registrarme?

Para registrarse, hable con su Jefe de grupo local. El o ella pueden registrar a dos miembros de su compañía poniéndose en contacto con Silvana Ayuso, Vice-Presidente de AMEDICAusa, por correo electrónico (silvanayuso@gmail.com) o al teléfono (5201-9757).

¿Qué tengo que traer?

Su E.P.P. …ropas, casco, y botas. PROTECCIÓN DE OJOS. Su ropa y sus artículos personales para esos días.

Por más información contacta:

Silvana Ayuso silvanayuso@gmail.com o 5201-9757

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Volcano Explosions Prompt Warning in Guatemala

Residents and Agencies Warned of Imminent Ashfall
Two very large explosions at Guatemala’s Santiaguito Volcano have caused the government agencies to issue warnings in southwestern Guatemala.

The latest, occurring this morning at 5:12 local time, threw ballistic bombs for over a mile, an ash cloud over 16,000 feet high and caused pyroclastic flows to rumble down the mountainsides.

(INSIVUMEH photo)

A Pyroclastic flow is a collapsing, high-density mix of hot lava blocks, pumice, ash and volcanic gas. They move at very high speed down volcanic slopes, at up to 450 miles an hour. One such event buried the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

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Friday, a similar, somewhat smaller explosion rocked the mountain.

Volcano Warnings for Ash and More Explosions.
INSIVUMEH, the government scientific agency charged with monitoring volcanic activity throughout the country, issued a warning for significant ashfall for 20-25 miles south and west of the mountain, with the advisory that fine ash could drift much farther. They also noted that additional explosions and activity are likely with a possibility of explosions much greater is size. Aircraft have been warned away from the area.

Friday explosion at Santiaguito

Volcanic ash can range from fine dust particles to gravel and poses significant health risks when inhaled. Volcanic ash is heavy, and significant ashfall can cause roof and structural collapse. When wet, such as from Guatemala’s recent heavy rains, it has the consistency and weight of wet concrete and can cause massive landslides.

Several of these volcanic landslides, called Lahars, have occurred in Guatemala over the last week, both at Santiaguito and Volcán Fuego another of the country’s three erupting volcanos.

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The warnings include the villages of San Marcos and Loma Linda, Palajunoj, Finca El Faro, Patzulin, El Patrocinio, and the populations of El Palmar, San Felipe, Las Marías and others in this area. It is likely to drop Ash on Mazatenango and its municipalities.

AMEDICAusa, inc. is an I.R.S. 501(C)(3) registered charity, headquartered in Frederick, Maryland.

Donating to AMEDICAusa ‘s ongoing programs is easy. Get the details here.

Guatemalan Landslides Leaving Many Homeless

Tzununá, Sololá, Guatemala

168 people left homeless and more than 28 structures damaged by landslide in a small Guatemalan village.

The landslide occurred in the Patuyá section of Tzununá, where authorities are setting up two emergency shelters to house the affected people, the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) reported. (CONRED is the Guatemalan equivalent of FEMA in the United States.)

Cristian Rodriguez, CONRED spokesperson, reported that at least 28 families are affected and they are coordinating with other officials to transfer them to a shelter.

(photo: Prensa Libre / CONRED)

“The houses were flooded by mud and stones that broke off from the mountain. Those affected are going to be moved because they are cut off and there is continued danger of further slides.” added Rodriguez.

AMEDICAusa Vice President Silvana Ayuso is in Guatemala and has been in contact with CONRED and Military officials at the scene and reported that emergency supplies are already enroute to the area.

“We are preparing to send emergency food supplies and clothing right now.” said Ayuso. ” This is happening in other places in Guatemala, and there is a significant danger of a much larger landslide happening anywhere right now… We must be ready.”

In the Department of Quetzaltenango on July 12th, a landslide killed a 61 year old man, despite efforts by the local firefighters to revive him.

Another slide was reported in the Department of Alta Verapaz last night.

Last October a catastrophic landslide buried the village of El Cambray Dos, outside Guatemala City, killing an estimated 350 people, many of whom were never recovered.

https://www.amedicausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/CarmenAdmusic.mp4

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Municipal Orange Alert to be declared in Santa Cruz La Laguna.

In order to expedite assistance for affected families and help prevent further damage or injuries, the Mayor of the Municipality is expected to make the declaration today.

Current Guatemala Landslide Danger Map – Areas in red are at the highest risk (CONRED)

According to information provided by CONRED, soils in the western areas of Guatemala are over-saturated with the recent heavy rains, conditions which facilitate landslides. More Rain and thunderstorms are expected today.

In addition, officials are concerned with the possibility of Lahars, volcanic mudflows of ash, rocks and rainwater, that can be literally boiling hot and have the consistency (and mass) of wet concrete. A Lahar occurred on June 13th from the slopes of Santiaguito, one of three currently erupting volcanoes in Guatemala.

Video of Tzununa Landslide

Video of flooding in Jerez, Jutiapa.

AMEDICAusa, inc. is an I.R.S. 501(C)(3) registered charity, headquartered in Frederick, Maryland.

Donating to AMEDICAusa ‘s ongoing programs is easy. Get the details here.

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