[ad_1]
Up to 150 people are feared to have died in a landslide in Guatemala after Storm Eta hit Central America with torrential rains.
Many of those who lost their lives in the remote mountain town of Queja in the country’s central Alta Verapaz region were buried in their homes under the mud, according to authorities.
The devastating climate front has wreaked havoc from Panama to Honduras to Mexico, which between them have recorded more than 50 flood-related deaths.
Soldiers trying to reach the site of the Complaint landslide were hampered in their search for survivors by the appalling conditions, including thick mud.
An army spokesman said it was not the first time a disaster had struck the area, which was the scene of a major landslide a decade ago, killing dozens.
Images of severe flooding in another part of Guatemala showed boats transporting villagers to safety and rescue workers wading waist-deep in water with children on their backs.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Eta is one of the fiercest storms to hit Central America in years, and the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) has warned that “catastrophic floods” would continue in the region.
Rescue operations in Honduras and Guatemala have been hampered by destroyed roads and bridges, forcing authorities to bring in the army and use helicopters and speedboats to rescue people stranded on top of their homes.
“We have many trapped people that we have not been able to reach,” said Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei.
He tweeted a photo of a rescued elderly man with the caption: “We will do whatever it takes, where it is necessary, whatever it takes to reach all Guatemalans. We will not leave them alone.”
In Honduras, floods have killed 23 people and two are missing, the government said.
“This is the worst storm Honduras has seen in decades. The damage will undoubtedly be significant,” said Mark Connolly, UNICEF Representative in Honduras, who estimated that around 1.5 million children will be affected.
“We have been without food for two days … waiting to be evacuated,” said William Santos, a refugee on top of a banana packing plant with some 300 people in northern Honduras.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Across the border from Guatemala, in the Mexican state of Chiapas, floods have killed 19 people.
The devastation recalls memories of Hurricane Mitch, which killed about 10,000 people in Central America in 1998.
The latest reports place Eta off the coast of Belize in the Caribbean, heading for Cuba and Florida.
But the remnants of the weather system will continue to hit parts of Central America with flooding, the NHC said.
