(Guatemala) Au moins six personnes sont mortes et 13 sont toujours portées disparues au Guatemala après la crue d’une rivière provoquée par de fortes pluies qui a emporté six habitations précaires de la capitale, a annoncé lundi la sécurité civile.
« Six corps ont été retrouvés […]two minors and the other adults,” Walter Monroy, deputy secretary of the National Coordination for Disaster Reduction (Conred, civil security), told the press.
The “flood of the river swept away the houses of the Dios Es Fiel district, located under the El Naranjo bridge”, had earlier indicated the spokesperson for Conred, Rodolfo Garcia. Mr Monroy said the sudden rise in water was the result of a “retention” of water which had formed following a landslide upstream.
The organization reported in a preliminary report that “18 people were missing”, including ten children.
Hundreds of rescuers are participating in the search, which was suspended Monday due to rain and will resume Tuesday, volunteer fire spokesman Bayron Morales said.
In search of his missing sister Josefina, 23, Mardoqueo Escalante, 35, helped in the search alongside rescuers accompanied by specialized dogs. “All we want is to find her,” he said, exhausted.
“Like a tornado”
Despite the authorities’ ban, hundreds of precarious homes have been built on the sides of this river, which collects a large part of the capital’s wastewater.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Monday morning, after heavy rain on Sunday.
Tons of water, stones, earth and debris buried the tin houses in this deprived neighborhood, noted an AFP journalist.
“It was like a tornado, the river was strong, it swept away several houses, unfortunately the whole area disappeared,” testified Esau Gonzalez, a resident of the affected neighborhood.
“In Guatemala there is no housing policy and that is why we are here,” emphasized the 42-year-old man.
“The river swept away entire families. Unfortunately, we knew the risks, but if we are here it is out of necessity,” explained another resident of the neighborhood, Marvin Cabrera, a 36-year-old motorcycle delivery man.
Thousands of people in Guatemala, where 59% of the 17.7 million inhabitants live in poverty, have been forced to build their homes in areas at risk, including flooding, due to a lack of housing.
Iris Lopez, 27, a resident of the disaster-stricken Dios Es Fiel neighborhood, hopes to be allowed to “build a new little house, maybe not here, but elsewhere.”
According to the Guatemalan Chamber of Construction (CGC) and the National Association of Home Builders (Anacovi), there is a shortage of approximately two million homes in the country.