Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 06 Nov 2020, 02:33 am Print
Storm Eta twitter.com/davepetley
Guatemala City: At least 50 people have been killed by landslides triggered by torrential rainfall following a storm in Guatemala, reports said.
The country was affected by Storm Eta, which made landfall in Nicaragua as a hurricane on Tuesday.
According to the Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, 25 of those 50 deaths took place in a single city.
He said at least 20 houses were buried under thick mud.
The President said on Thursday that the country received a month's rainfall within 12 hours, during an impromptu press conference, a BBC report said.
Reports said San Cristobal Verapaz was the worst hit town, accounting for half of the casualties.
Continuous rainfall has also restricted movement of rescue workers.
"Right now, we're trying to get there on foot because there's no other way," Giammattei said.
Eta was first marked as a category four hurricane and made landfall in Nicaragua while packing winspeeds of 140mph.
It weakened later as it moved to Honduras and Guatemala.
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