Guatemala landslide leaves 38 dead, dozens others missing

A fresh mudslide in northern Guatemala yesterday killed one person and inured another eight, two of which were children, rounding the death toll so far to 38. However, a wave of landslides across the country have raised fears that the eventual toll will be much higher

President Alvaro Colom, who visited a site were 40 people are feared to have been buried alive in a mudslide, declared the disaster “a national tragedy”.

Rescuers yesterday dug nine bodies out of a 300 metre deep gorge, off the main Pan-American Highway, west of the capital Guatemala city. "Top priority at present is dealing with this emergency," Colom said as he toured the devastation and estimated the cost of the damage to around 500 million dollars, in one of the poorest countries in the Americas.

A series of accidents caused by the mud slides have left a large number of people dead. 10 people were killed on Saturday when a bus in the main highway was buried near the town of Chimaltenango.

Another landslide also buried a family of four in their home in the western region of Quetzaltenango.

Guatemala's National Coordination for Disaster Reduction listed almost 200 landslides and mudslides across the country. With more heavy rain forecast, authorities have closed part of the Pan-American Highway. The regions of Escuintla, Retalhuleu and Suchitepequez in the country’s south have been put on red alert.

President Colom has warned of little funds left to cope with the aftermath of the disaster, as the country is still trying to recover from the destruction of storm Agatha last May, which left 165 Guatemalans killed and thousands others homeless.

Heavy downpours have come ahead of what is traditionally the worst part of the rainy season, which lasts until October 30, raising fears of increased disaster and panic.