October 6 2005
Hurricane "Stan": SOS Children's Village facilities remained intact
07/10/2005 - Hurricane "Stan", which has raged over Mexico and Central America for several days, has left a trail of destruction and claimed several lives. SOS Children's Villages was fortunate: All children, mothers and staff remained unharmed and the SOS Children's Village facilities in the affected region are mostly intact.
According to latest reports, "Stan" and the subsequent mudslides and floods caused at least 230 casualties. Guatemala has recorded 120 dead, fatalities have also been reported in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico, Costa Rica and Honduras. It is feared that the death toll will rise further.
SOS Children's Villages was fortunate: All children, mothers and staff in the affected region remained unscathed. A local SOS Children's Village co-worker reported that only the SOS Vacation Centre Panajachel in Guatemala has suffered from minor floods. At that time no children were at the vacation centre. Due to landslides, telephone lines are down and access roads to the SOS Vacation Centre are currently impassable.
The government of Guatemala has declared a state of national emergency because of the severe devastation. In Mexico, Tuxtla declared a state of alert; people have not gone to work since Wednesday. In Hampolol schools stayed closed on Thursday.
As soon as we have more information from the field, we will post it here.