UPDATE: Guatemala Volcano: Dozens of Fatalities as Fuego Volcano Erupts

UPDATE #4 June 11, 2018

The HOPE worldwide Guatemala team has been serving food, collecting and delivering supplies and delivering lifesaving medicines to the areas Escuintla area all week. Some of the brothers and sisters from Escuintla evacuated early in the week, but most have returned to Escuintla and are assisting wherever they can.

Estuardo Vasquez provided the following numbers for the San Miguel Los Lotes School that HOPE worldwide Guatemala supports.

240 total students

8 confirmed killed

65 found alive in various shelters (35 were found this morning as far away as Antigua)

167 still missing

The brothers and sisters in Escuintla and GC are actively looking in refugee centers/shelters for the missing .

The first $10,000 in medications should be received Wednesday. Walter and I are flying to GC on Friday, June 15th to provide support to Estuardo and his team and the Church, assess the situation and hand carry the first round of medications.

Let me know if you have questions

God bless and keep praying for the families of those lost and still missing!

The Fuego Volcano, located about 25 miles Southwest of Guatemala City, erupted on June 3, 2018.

The official death toll is 75 killed and over 200 missing. Rescue efforts continue in the immediate area.

Several emergency shelters have been opened in Escuintla. On June 4, local HOPE worldwide volunteers and staff delivered medicines and emergency prepositioned supplies from the HOPE worldwide Guatemala City Clinic to Escuintla. There are plans to provide additional medications and supplies in the coming days. HOPE worldwide has also provided emergency financial relief.

An evacuation alert yesterday brought a large scale evacuation of Escuintla.

Local leaders informed HOPE worldwide that none of our volunteers or local church supporters were injured.

Tragically, at least one student from the San Miguel Los Lotes School that HOPE worldwide supports near the Volcano of Fire has been reported killed.

HOPE worldwide received the good news that 21 of the students have been found alive. Please continue to pray for the 200 students still missing.

Volcanic eruptions can be unpredictable as far as severity and length of time. HOPE worldwide is mobilizing resources to best help the communities in Guatemala. HOPE worldwide is providing an emergency shipment of medications and will continue to work with the local HOPE worldwide staff to develop a long term response and recovery plan. For several years, we have been providing health services to the communities in Guatemala.

Please pray for the situation.

For financial support, please visit www.hopeww.org/donatedisaster

For further information, please contact:

Shane.Engel@hopeww.org - Director of Communication

Charles.Ham@hopeww.org - Director of Global Disaster Response & Mitigation.

Dave.Tomlinson@hopeww.org – Director of Disaster Response, North America and the Caribbean

Situation Report #2

June 5, 2018

Fuego Volcano erupted again, causing additional evacuations

The Fuego Volcano, located about 25 miles Southwest of Guatemala City, erupted on June 3rd, 2018. On June 4th, the volcano erupted again, sending pyroclastic flow and caused more evacuations of already strained community.

At least 69 people have been confirmed killed and hundreds injured. Rescue efforts continue in the immediate area.

La Aurora airport in Guatemala City was closed due to ash in the hours after the eruption but has now re-opened.

Several emergency shelters have been opened in Escuintla. Local HOPE worldwide volunteers and staff delivered medicines and emergency prepositioned supplies from the HOPE worldwide Guatemala City Clinic to Escuintla the evening of June 4 and plan to provide additional medications and supplies in the coming days. HOPE worldwide has also provided emergency financial relief. However, the latest situation forces the local team to re-assess the approach as Escuintla community need to evacuate to a safer ground.

Local leaders have informed that no HOPE worldwide volunteers or local church supporters are injured.

Tragically, students from the San Miguel Los Lotes school that HOPE worldwide supports near the volcano have been reported killed. Several students and families of the school are reported missing and are feared dead.

HOPE worldwide just received the good news that 11 of the students have been found alive.

Volcanic eruptions can be unpredictable as far as severity and length of time. HOPE worldwide is mobilizing resources to best help the communities in Guatemala. For several years, we have been providing health services to the communities in Guatemala. For the last two years HOPE worldwide has been directly supporting the local HOPE School.

Please pray for the situation.

For further information, please contact:

Shane.Engel@hopeww.org - Director of Communication

Charles.Ham@hopeww.org - Director of Global Disaster Response & Mitigation.

Dave.Tomlinson@hopeww.org – Director of Disaster Response, North America and the Caribbean

Click here to donate. Thank you for giving hope!

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Monday, June 5, 2018

The head of Guatemala's National Forensic Sciences Institute states that there are currently 62 dead, of which 13 have been identified. Dozens more are missing as villages on the slopes of Fuego volcano were buried in volcanic ash, mud and rocks as the volcano erupted for 16 and a half hours on Sunday. Pyroclastic flows, which are fast-moving mixtures of very hot gas and volcanic matter, rushed down the mountainside and engulfed villages.

Sergio Cabañas, head of the country's National Disaster Management Agency (Conred), said the town of El Rodeo had been "buried". Other towns affected include Alotenango and San Miguel Los Lotes. Rescuers are still trying to reach a number of villages and the death toll is expected to rise. A total of about 1.7 million people have been affected in four regions. President Jimmy Morales has declared three days of national mourning.

Dave Tomlinson, HOPE worldwide’s Director of Disaster Response, has been able to be in contact with HOPE worldwide Guatemala chapter representatives and local church leadership and they have no reports of injury, however there is a great desire to help the many affected people in the area. HOPE worldwide has already pre-positioned and have helped over 100 people as of today. HOPE worldwide needs funds to replenish and get further medical supplies to the affected area. For several years, HOPE worldwide has been providing health services to the communities in Guatemala through the Community Service Brigades (CSB) and is committed to supporting the communities in this difficult time.

Please pray for the situation and consider supporting HOPE worldwide’s Global Disaster Fund: Click Here to Donate