Storm Eta: Guatemala landslide kills at least 50
Published : 06 Nov 2020, 13:23
Sahos Desk
After Storm Eta's torrential rain and high winds battered the Central American country, at least 50 people were killed by landslides in Guatemala.
Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei said about half of the deaths occurred in a single town where some 20 houses were buried under thick mud by a hillside collapse.
As a hurricane on Tuesday, Eta made landfall in neighbouring Nicaragua.
The BBC announced that it was later downgraded to a tropical storm.
During an impromptu press conference on Thursday, Mr. Giammattei said a month's worth of rain had fallen in less than half a day.
The heavy rain left emergency workers unable to enter one of the areas most affected, including the town of San Cristobal Verapaz, which is home to half of the casualties reported.
"Right now, we're trying to get there on foot because there's no other way," Mr Giammattei said. At least 50 people have been killed by landslides in Guatemala after Storm Eta's torrential rain and high winds battered the Central American country.
Eta first hit Nicaragua as a Category Four hurricane with winds of 140mph (225km/h) and torrential rains. It then weakened into a tropical depression as it moved into neighbouring Honduras and later Guatemala.
Across the Central American region, Eta is believed to have killed more than 70 people, the Reuters news agency reports.