Please pray for us the Guatemalans and especially our congregations. This last week of May has been a week of natural disasters. Last Thursday we had the Pacaya volcano eruption, which covered with two inches of sand the Capital and towns around the Capital, like Amatitlán. Rain also started this day because Agatha, the first Storm of the 2010 season, was developing. I did not go back home yesterday and dew to the landslides on the roads, I will stay in the City.
General Information About Agatha: Agatha formed as a tropical storm early Saturday and moved over land in the evening along the Guatemalan border, on Saturday morning, after the Pastors and Leaders left we continue with the cleaning, but then the rain did not stopped and had wind speeds of up to 45 mph (75 kph), thanks our Lord, in the evening it weakened into a tropical depression before dissipating over the mountains.
Agatha in and around Guatemala City: In the Capital, President Colom said in his last press conference that 42.6 centimeters (107.14 inches) of rain had fallen in Guatemala City's valley just yesterday, the most since 1949. Rains caused a landslide on a hillside settlement that killed four people and left 11 missing, we could not use Internet since most of the city was without electricity at nightfall, as of Saturday night, 4,300 people were in shelters, a three-story building in northern Guatemala City fell into a huge crater created by the collapse of our old sewage system.
Outside Guatemala City, the most affected areas are Amatitlan, Ash that's spewing out of the Pacaya volcano south of the capital of Guatemala City is complicating matters because it's blocking drainage systems and worsening flood conditions, yesterday, Michatoya river, the outlet from the lake flooded the streets and houses. In Quetzaltenango, 125 miles west of Guatemala City, a boulder loosened by rains crushed a house, killing two children and two adults. Another severely affected area is San Marcos.
Post Agatha and new storm Formations: All roads Although no longer even a tropical depression, are creating the possibility of "life-threatening flash floods and mudslides," All the water that fell over the highlands is going now to the Motagua River on the Caribbean coast and through the main rivers on the Pacific plains. Agatha still posed trouble for the region: Remnants of the storm are delivering lots of rain over south and north eastern Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Government Security Measures: Airport was closed and after this new event, officials said it will be at least until Tuesday before they finish cleaning ash and debris off tarmac. Schools classes are cancelled until June the 4th.
Lutheran Churches in Guatemala Information On Friday most Guatemalans were cleaning their homes, at Mighty Fortress the congregation were cleaning their homes and church buildings at the moments while the rain temporarily stopped. The Friday Assembly of the Lutheran Church in Guatemala to review our Constitution and By Laws, started until 4 pm, to be suspended immediately because of the state of Calamity declared by our Government. The leaders of the national church spend the night at our Guest House in the City, and on Saturday they went back to their congregations.
The congregation at San Marcos, is fine because the storm dissipated over the mountains, only the roads are blocked at some areas dew to mudslides. At Quetzaltenango the downtown was flooded but the congregation did not suffer, only the house from sister Elizabeth has some damage because a neighbors’ wall collapse. The members from Chajabal are all fine, there was a mudslide on the road and they cannot reach Quetzaltenango by now. The brethren from Retalhuleu have been in their homes and they are all fine even though the storms was stock over the Pacific Coast for several hours.
At Amatitlan the Mission of the Holy Cross is ok, the garden was flooded but nothing happened to the congregation. Zacapa and Chiquimula are fine, not much physical danger, only some members from Manzanotes are suffering at the moment because the Motagua river is collecting all the water from this last two days. Puerto Barrios is suffering from the flooding of the Motagua river, school and church are in a safe area.
The worst situation at the moment is the school and congregation at Gualan. Two children from the congregation died, Pastor Luis, his family and members of the congregation are at this moment helping to clean up the mud from member’s home. The wall that was protecting the school as well as the weather station collapsed and the river is excavating the school foundations. The level of the Motagua river at the moment is higher than it was during hurricane Mitch. The river looks like a huge lake.
Please keep us in your prayers, we will need them during the next days.
