EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND for VICTIMS of FLOODS & MUDSLIDES in CENTRAL AMERICA & SOUTHERN MEXICO
The poor of Central America and Chiapas (Mexico) are again being victimized by torrential rains, mudslides and flooding - this time due to hurricane "Stan".
To date, hundreds have been killed and thousands displaced. Probably more deaths and loss of home and livelihood to come. Below, you will find Reuters and Associated Press articles about the death, damage and suffering.
As is usually the case, most victims were already living in chronic conditions of exploitation, poverty and vulnerability. They have no insurance coverage and will receive little or no re-building support from their governments.
TAX-CHARITABLE DONATIONS: Rights Action (with more than 20 years experience supporting grassroots development, environment, emergency relief and human rights organizations in Central America and Chiapas) asks for donations for our "Central America Hurricane Relief Fund 2005".
Credit card donations accepted (go to www.rightsaction.org) or make check payable to "Rights Action" (write "Hurricane Relief Fund" on memo-line) and mail to: UNITED STATES, Rights Action, Box 50887, Washington DC, 20091-0887; CANADA: Rights Action, 509 St. Clair Av. W., box73527, Toronto ON, M6C-1C0.
BENEFICIARIES: Your financial contributions will be channeled directly to grassroots organizations in the affected communities and regions. It is Rights Action's approach to 'emergency relief' that we support people and communities directly victimized by the hurricanes, floods and mudslides, and that have a longer term vision of re-building their communities in environmentally sustainable ways that do not leave them vulnerable to natural disasters.
In Guatemala, Chiapas and Honduras, we will direct your funds to local organizations in the affected regions from our main office in Guatemala. In El Salvador, we will channel funds to "New Generation XXI Youth Movement" that we worked with responding to death and damage due to a 2001 earthquake that caused a massive landslide.
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"DEATH TOLL UP IN CENTRAL AMERICAN FLOODING", by Juan Carlos Llorca, Associated Press, October 6, 2005
GUATEMALA CITY - Rescuers pulled at least 40 more bodies from a muddy landslide in Guatemala Thursday as the death toll from five days of storms in Central America and Mexico jumped to more than 200. Crews unearth the remains of the villages from the avalanche in Solola, a town near Lake Atitlan, about 60 miles west of the capital, Guatemala City. But the toll could rise amid fears that as many as 150 people are still buried at the site.
"We took out 40 to 45 bodies today," said Pedro Mendoza, 25, one of numerous area residents participating in the recovery. "The landslide was Wednesday but because the roads are blocked, no one can get through to help us." Disaster agency spokesman Benedicto Giron said the Solola governor's office confirmed that at least 40 more bodies were recovered.
Five days of bad weather, exacerbated by Hurricane Stan sweeping ashore on Tuesday, have contributed to the misery in the region. The recovery of the bodies pushed the death toll in the entire region to 211. The figure includes 14 people killed earlier this week in Nicaragua, Honduras and Costa Rica, and 13 people who died in three Mexican states, 65 in El Salvador with the remainder in Guatemala.
For the first time since the weekend, the weather cleared Thursday and allowed Guatemala President Oscar Berger to fly over devastated areas and evaluate damage. He declared a state of emergency as rescuers in Solola reported that two other villages had been buried by landslides, including Las Giraldas, 55 miles west of Guatemala City. More than a dozen people there were digging out houses buried when a second hillside collapsed.
In Quetzaltenango, Guatemala's second-most important city about 125 miles west of the capital, floodwaters rose 6 1/2 feet high, destroying hundreds of homes, businesses and public buildings, firefighters said.
More than 24,000 people from 270 communities took refuge in shelters throughout Guatemala, but they were suffering from the cold and a lack of food and water, according to radio reports. Quetzaltenango residents reported similar conditions.
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"HURRICANE STAN KILLS 162 IN CENTRAL AMERICA", By Reuters, Oct 6, 2005
Huge mudslides, flooding and torrential rains from Hurricane Stan have killed at least 162 people in Central America and southern Mexico, rescue workers said on Wednesday. Relentless rain pounded mountain villages and urban shanty towns across the impoverished region, and hillsides collapsed under four days of downpours. The death toll more than doubled on Wednesday when rivers burst their banks in southern Mexico, and emergency teams found dozens more victims buried under banks of mud in remote Guatemalan towns.
By the evening, the death toll in Guatemala stood at 79 people, but the government said that figure could rise. Unconfirmed reports said hundreds may have been killed in an isolated region in the west of the country. Entire families were missing after a river of mud, trees and rocks descended on the hill town of Tecpan, west of the capital, destroying more than 30 flimsy homes.
"A lot of people could not get out," said Samuel Cif, a local peasant. Two dead children were found and villagers were too scared of more landslides to dig for other victims. Clothing, trees and the roofs of houses were strewn around and heavy rain still pounded the area.
The tragedy brought back memories of Hurricane Mitch, which killed some 10,000 people in 1998 in Central America, mainly in Honduras and Nicaragua, with mudslides and flooding. . . .
HEARD CRIES
"I was like a worm sliding around in the mud," said Alexander Flores, whose home on the edge of San Salvador was buried under six feet (2 metres) of dirt and rocks. "I just heard two shouts from my mother, saying, 'Alex, Alex,' maybe for me to help her or her trying to save me," he said. His mother and five children, including a newborn baby, all died, he said.
Along with the 79 dead in Guatemala, 62 people have been killed in El Salvador and another 21 total in Mexico, Nicaragua and Honduras, authorities said. . . . Swollen rivers washed away three large concrete bridges and ripped apart houses and buildings when they burst their banks at the city of Tapachula, in Mexico's Chiapas state. "My house was here," said Dr. Rosenberg Arias, pointing into the Coatan River. "And that was my grandmother's house, and that was my neighbour's house. Now there is nothing."
. . . "There is flooding, in some communities mudslides; there is no access by road, no telephone communication," said Jordan Jimenez of Mexico's civil protection agency in Chiapas. "There are people missing, some in shelters."
Greenpeace said the flooding in Mexico was made worse by deforestation, as water rushed down bare hillsides. "Once again, this underlines the importance of conserving ecosystems, particularly forests and mangroves, to prevent the impact of hurricanes," the environmental group said. . . ."
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Rights Action (Derechos en Accion) carries out and supports community development, environment, emergency relief and human rights work in Honduras, Guatemala, Chiapas (Mexico), Haiti and elsewhere. For more information, to make tax-deductible donations or to get involved, contact Rights Action: info@rightsaction.org, 416-654-2074, www.rightsaction.org.