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Rains leave 23 dead in Guatemala

Guatemala City, Aug 21 (Prensa Latina) The death toll brought by the rainy season (May-October) in Guatemala rose to 23, with 13 injured, the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) informed Wednesday.

The entity registered 1,519 incidents, 8,315 victims, 23,247 evacuated, 7,199 at risk and 731 sheltered.

In addition, there are 1,160 houses at risk, with an additional 741 slightly damaged, 7,200 moderately and 374 severely imperiled, 45 schools affected, 587 roads, 15 buildings, 41 bridges and five destroyed.

Atmospheric conditions, according to the National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology (INSUVIMEH), all point to a slight degree of rains in the country.

As the day warms up, short lived rainfalls and thunder will dot the west, the volcanic chain and the south of Valles de Oriente, added the scientific entity.

The highest accumulated rainfall in the last 24 hours was recorded in the departments of Huhuetenango (53.8 millimeters), San Marcos (35.5) and Los Esclavos, Santa Roca (33.2).

The INSUVIMEH warned that in the municipality of San Luis, Peten, the upper layer of soil shows an over 90 percent of water saturation, while Livingston, Izabal, has the same value in the lower layer.

Under such conditions, water infiltration decreases, draining directly into riverbeds and causing rivers to swell.

This season began in Guatemala at the beginning of June, causing the collapse of several of the main highways and a landslide in a community that caused the death of two children.

The President of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, ratified his commitment to prevent more tragedies in the country, although Congress kept him twice from declaring a State of Calamity in the face of emergencies.

ied/omr/arc/znc

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