Hurricane Stan: One Year On
by Catherine LaineOctober 8th, 2006
This time last year, Pete and I were in Guatemala during Hurricane Stan, one of the 28 named storms during the record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season of 2005. One year on, the ensuing emergency is one of the many ongoing disasters that have falled clear of the headlines. These four short news articles give information on how Guatemala is faring one year on.
Guatemala survivors homeless year after mudslide (Relief Web)
One year after Hurricane Stan: a silent emergency (Reuters)
Painful legacy of Guatemala storm (BBC News)
No ven obras tras Stan (Prensa Libre, Spanish)
Also Patrick from the Guatemala Solidarity Network gives a nice summary of Hurricane Stan information from other news sources in his blog.
In a nutshell: While cities in affected areas have largely recovered from the aftermath of the Hurricane, persons living in rural and isolated areas continue to suffer.
View the photographs taken by AIDG staff during the disaster.
Update:
If you live in the Boston area, you might be interested in this talk at Harvard Medical School.
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Medical System Development and Disaster Recovery in Rural Guatemala
Speaker: Dr. Irene Quiejú, Director, Hospitalito Atitlán
Date: Thursday, October 12
4-5 pm (reception to follow)
Location: Harvard Medical School, Cannon Room, Bldg. C-2
Description: The product of local leadership and U.S.-based support, the Hospitalito Atitlán opened on April 1, 2005, bringing round-the-clock medical care, trauma services, advanced OB, and basic surgical services to an isolated indigenous town. Just six months later, massive landslides killed nearly 1,000 people, left over 4,000 homeless, and buried the hospital. Remarkably, instead of the 15 years it took to reopen the Hospitalito Atitlán after the civil war forced its closure in 1990, full services resumed in an interim facility only 15 days after the landslides. The Hospitalito is currently beginning construction of a new facility designed to accommodate the unique local needs and difficulties.
