...

Central America reels from tropical storm Eta, as death toll surpasses 100

World Materials 7 November 2020 00:43 (UTC +04:00)
Central America reels from tropical storm Eta, as death toll surpasses 100

The death toll from the calamitous storm Eta in Central America soared on Friday after the Guatemalan military reached a remote mountainous village where torrential rains had triggered devastating mudslides, killing about 100 people, Trend reports citing Reuters.

Many of the dead were buried in their homes in the remote Queja village in central region of Alta Verapaz, where about 150 houses had been swallowed by mudslides, Guatemalan army spokesman Ruben Tellez told Reuters, citing preliminary figures.

The area around Queja village appeared to be the site of a huge landslide on a road pass a decade ago, which left dozens of people dead, Tellez added.

“Now with all this (Eta) phenomenon it collapsed again,” Tellez said.

Photos of the Queja landslide showed a lengthy strip of brown mud peeled from the lush green hillside. Footage from another part of Guatemala showed boats ferrying villagers in flooded regions and rescue workers carrying children on their backs, wading through water up to their hips.

Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei indicated the death toll could jump even higher, with the number of dead and missing in Queja village estimated to total about 150.

Tags:
Latest

Latest