WESTPORT, Conn. (June 4, 2010) — Save the Children is beginning distributions of food, hygiene supplies and other items to families affected by Tropical Storm Agatha and the near-simultaneous eruption of the Pacaya volcano in Guatemala.
Over the coming weeks, the international humanitarian agency — which works in six Guatemalan departments and 322 communities providing education, nutrition, health, protection and other programs — will provide more than 46 metric tons of rice, beans and vegetable oil to families in Chichicastenango and Sacapulas. Save the Children also is assessing needs related to damage to crops and loss of livestock.
"Families have lost homes, villages are isolated by flooding and a simmering food crisis has been exacerbated by damage wrought by the tropical rains and choking ash from the volcano," said Carlos Cardenas, Save the Children's country director in Guatemala. "Impoverished children in many areas of Guatemala were vulnerable prior to this latest disaster. This new crisis threatens the well-being of thousands of children now and over the coming months as their parents try to recover."
Tropical Storm Agatha made landfall near the Guatemala-Mexico border on May 29 and brought the nation's heaviest rains in 60 years. It caused rivers to break their banks, landslides and flooded agricultural areas. When the storm hit, thousands of people in Guatemala had already evacuated their homes due to the eruption of the Pacaya volcano, just south of Guatemala City.
Agatha also pounded El Salvador and Honduras. All three countries have declared a state of emergency and are grappling with damaged homes, roads and infrastructure. Tens of thousands of people are taking refuge in shelters.
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