Christian Aid partners in El Salvador were among the first to provide emergency relief to survivors of Hurricane Stan which killed at least 763 people when it struck land on 4th October.
Torrential rains have caused mudslides in Guatemala and El Salvador. Entire villages have been completely covered by the mudslides. Some places were too dangerous to dig for any survivors, with officials in Guatemala calling for several remote communities to be declared mass graves.According to Christian Aid, the mayor of Panabaj, Diego Esquina, said his village “will no longer exist.”
“We are asking that it be declared a cemetery. The bodies are so rotten that they can no longer be identified. They will only bring disease.”
El Salvador was struck with two other natural disasters along with the hurricane. On 1st October, the country’s highest volcano, Ilamatepec, erupted, forcing 20,000 people to evacuate.
And on 7th October, a 5.8 earthquake struck, with its epicentre just 35 miles southwest of the capital of El Salvador. Approximately 72,000 people have been displaced in El Salvador in recent weeks.
Partners of Christian Aid in El Salvador are Aprodehni, Las Dignas and Cordes. They are providing food, water, blankets and personal hygiene kits to over a thousand people displaced due to the hurricane.
In Guatemala, a team from Christian Aid is assessing the needs of survivors to respond to the emergency more efficiently.
Guatemala and El Salvador will need consistent food aid for next several months after thousands of hectares of crops have been destroyed. The next planting season starts in May 2006 and farmers will need help to replenish the seeds and livestock.
