Plan volunteers packing food parcels for affected communities

14 June 2010: Plan has launched an emergency appeal to help thousands of Guatemalan children and their families made homeless by tropical storm Agatha.

More than 27,000 people are living in 218 shelters and many more are trapped in their communities by landslides which have damaged roads and bridges.

Guatemala has the highest death toll of any Central American country affected by the storm at 174, and regional forecasts are now saying that this is only the beginning of a long and difficult storm season for the area. President Alvaro Colom has estimated that it will take around 5 years to rebuild the country.

Please make a donation to the Guatemala emergency appeal today.

Volcanic eruption

Prior to the storm, communities in Guatemala were already contending with ash and molten rock spewing from the Pacaya volcano, which made landslides more intense during the heavy rains. Ash also clogged sewers and caused parts of the country’s water drainage systems to collapse.

Rescue teams are having trouble reaching isolated communities which are in desperate need of aid and medicine for conditions such as respiratory infection, dengue fever, and diarrhoea. Food supplies could also become an issue in the coming months due to damage caused to crops and livestock.

Another concern is getting children back to school. Currently 1,283 schools are badly damaged, and of the ones that remain functional, 144 are being used as emergency shelters.

Plan action

Working with the government and other non-governmental organisations, Plan is on the ground providing families with food, safe water, bedding and latrines.

Plan is also assessing the condition of homes for reconstruction, raising awareness on child protection issues and providing psychosocial care and recreational activities for children and adults living in shelters.

More than 397,000 Guatemalans have been affected by the eruption of Pacaya volcano and tropical storm Agatha. 

Donate to the Guatemala appeal

Find out more about Plan’s work in Guatemala