At least 65 people are dead and nearly 2 million are displaced in the most violent eruption of a volcano in Guatemala in decades. The Sunday eruption of the Volcán de Fuego in southwestern Guatemala caught authorities off-guard and online critics have called out the Guatemalan government for not responding forcefully enough to the eruption.
On Monday images emerged of the rescue operations. One clip shows uniformed officials pulling ash-caked bodies from the gray landscape. At one point, a rescuer is seen lifting a child and crying: "Bring the car because this one is warm!"
Warning, the images below are intense:
Esto Me Parte El Alma💔😭😭 #fuerzaguatemala #fuerzaguate 💔
A post shared by Rosely Najera🌵🌙 (@rousse_22n) on
Entire towns were destroyed by lava flows or covered in ash. One survivor said many people were left behind in her village. Watch:
Mis queridos amigos de Guatemala, están en mis pensamientos y oraciones en estos momento, mi solidaridad con todas las familias afectadas, mucha fuerza 🙏🏻🇬🇹 #guatemala #volcan pic.twitter.com/ewTJZhSUcb
— Tito El Patrón 🦅✨💙 (@Tbambino) June 4, 2018
Another clip of the rescue operation showed an infant, seemingly unharmed, being carried out of a building in an ash-covered town.
Un pedacito de esperanza. Que Dios la bendiga. Fuerza Guatemala pic.twitter.com/lVi8ABPmwB
— Ricardo Arjona ® (@Ricardo_Arjona) June 4, 2018
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
Online campaigns are sprouting up to offer aid and support. The governments or embassies of several neighboring countries including Mexico and the United States offered their support. The Red Cross is accepting donations. Readers are also encouraged to speak to their Guatemalan or Guatemalan-American neighbors or associates to figure out effective person-to-person aid.
See the Earth Observatory of NASA for information on this eruption.
