GUATEMALA CITY – Villagers used hoes and pick axes to hunt for victims of landslides that have killed at least 179 people in Central America while officials in Guatemala’s capital tried to cope with a vast sinkhole that swallowed a clothing factory.
Thousands remained homeless and dozens still missing following the season’s first tropical storm. Rescue crews struggled to reach isolated communities to distribute food and water.
Additional Photos
“This is a total tragedy,” said Jose Vicente Samayoa, president of a neighborhood group in Amatitlan, a flooded town south of Guatemala’s capital.
Officials in Guatemala reported 152 dead but said 100 people were still missing. In the department of Chimaltenango — a province west of Guatemala City — landslides buried rural Indian communities and killed at least 60 people.
Curious onlookers also gathered at a massive and almost perfectly circular sinkhole that swallowed an entire intersection in Guatemala City over the weekend, gulping down a clothing factory but causing no deaths or injuries.
Authorities estimate the hole is 66 feet wide and nearly 100 feet deep, but they are still investigating what caused it.
Nearly 125,000 people were evacuated in Guatemala and thousands more fled their homes in neighboring Honduras, where the death toll rose to 17 after two youths disappeared while bathing in a turbulent river despite official warnings to stay away from swollen waterways.
Most schools resumed classes on Tuesday in Honduras.
In El Salvador, 11,000 people were evacuated. The death toll rose to 10 and two others were missing, President Mauricio Funes said Monday night.
About 95 percent of the country’s roads were affected by landslides, but most remained open, Transportation Minister Gerson Martinez said. He said 179 bridges had been wrecked.
Agatha made landfall Saturday near the Guatemala-Mexico border with 45 mph winds.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.