Sandra Cuffe
October 06, 2015•Update: October 06, 2015
By Sandra Cuffe
RIVAS, Nicaragua
Unstable terrain and a second landslide on Monday complicated rescue efforts following a deadly landslide last week in Guatemala.
The death toll is 161 and counting, officials confirmed late Monday.
President Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre declared three days of official mourning Monday, urging the public to share in “the profound sorrow for such a terrible loss that has plunged the nation into mourning”.
Emergency personnel were forced to retreat and re-evaluate the situation Monday due to the instability of the terrain.
Another small landslide occurred in the area, but no one was harmed, according to CONRED, the National Coordination for Disaster Prevention. The unstable hilltop above the landslide area poses a risk, however, as does the high water level in the nearby Pinula River.
Work resumed following the evaluation. Cautionary measures were implemented and access to the site was further restricted.
Emergency personnel are working in large crews with substitutions every two hours. CONRED reported that 70 heavy equipment units and 71 trucks are at work in areas considered stable enough to support them.
The initial landslide occurred Thursday, when heavy rains caused a hillside to collapse onto El Cambray II, a settlement on the southeastern outskirts of Guatemala City.
Rescue efforts passed the 72-hour mark established by international protocols Sunday night. However, the goal is to continue until there is “not a single body in the affected area”, CONRED executive secretary Alejandro Maldonado said at a press conference Monday.
An estimated 300 people are still missing and more than 200 people are in shelters, said Maldonado, who is the son of the country’s president.
Disaster response work is being coordinated by CONRED, volunteer and municipal firefighters, the army engineer corps and the national police force.
Mexican rescue personnel and equipment arrived on scene Sunday to assist in emergency response efforts coordinated by Guatemalan authorities. More than 60 specialists from the Mexican armed forces, federal police force, and civilian protection agency are participating.
Efforts to identify victims’ remains continue at a makeshift morgue managed by personnel from the National Forensic Science Institute and the Office of the Public Prosecutor. More than half of the victims have been identified.
El Cambray II was identified as a high-risk area as far back as 2008, according to CONRED. A review last November confirmed the risk to the municipal government of Santa Catarina Pinula, where the landslide occurred.
CONRED made several recommendations for consideration in its report to municipal authorities last year, including “an ongoing program for the conservation and stabilization of hillsides”, according to the Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre.
