Global Courant
On the morning of this September 25, after the heavy rains reported in several sectors of the capital, the relief forces were alerted by a flooding river.
Unfortunately, the flooding of the river became a current that impacted the Dios es faithful settlement, located under the Naranjo bridge in zone 7 of the capital, and swept away some of the homes that were there, as well as some people.
The rescue forces began search and rescue efforts, and preliminarily there are 14 people missing, five dead and six houses destroyed.
The search work will continue on September 26 at 5:30 in the morning, while uncertainty and fear affect the families who survived the storm, who are in shelters and receiving food and support from the population. .
In a press conference held by authorities of the Municipality of Guatemala, together with the Municipal Firefighters, it was mentioned at the beginning that, as part of the protocols for the rainy seasons, they began by notifying people who live in risk areas, and they assured that the God is faithful settlement received numerous risk alerts.
“In this settlement multiple notifications had been made, in fact, we had been insisting a lot that it was a risk area and we asked the neighbors to please heed that notification,” said Héctor Flores, in charge of the Vulnerabilities and Administration Administration Directorate. Emergencies (AVE).
Alert in 2018
On June 5, 2018, Prensa Libre documented how the inhabitants of the Dios es faithful settlement used a water source to cover their most basic needs such as washing clothes or bathing.
This spring was discovered in 2013, and according to the residents at that time, it was the only way they had to supply themselves with water, because the Municipality of Guatemala did not provide the supply.
However, the Municipality later explained that the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (Conred) ruled the place as “uninhabitable”, so they could not provide water service to the residents as it was in a high-risk area.
“The Municipality cannot provide services to a place declared uninhabitable by Conred,” indicated at that time the Social Communication Directorate of the capital commune.
The water source was not the only event that caused Conred to declare the place uninhabitable. The collapse of a hillside was also reported due to the accumulation of waste that came from the Niño Dormido neighborhood.
Despite the dangers, the note reads the statements of the settlement’s inhabitants, where they not only claim that the water comes from a cave, but that it is their only way to obtain that resource.
