 "El Roble" gully area. |
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I suspect the number is probably double that because many never make it to the hospital. Now with the flood, since people are cut off from pure water, they are forced to drink dirty water from streams that have been filled with garbage. But not only an epidemic of parasites is possible, also the pooled static water will bring a plague of mosquitoes with debilitating diseases like malaria and dengue fever. The lack of garbage collection and dead animals will invite a host of flies. The public health departments are already warning people how to prevent these hazards. All the hospitals have been alerted to treat every case of diarrhea with the seriousness of cholera. There are many government organizations that are acting. The one called Conred is for the handling of disasters, but as much as they have trained for something like this, they are over their heads. They don't have money for the right equipment. All the volunteer firemen are part of the disaster corps, but they are using rope and pulleys to rescue people from raging rivers and one slip of the hand means a tragedy. There were various dramatic photos of young men suspended in the air above torrents. The government is just now estimating the total cost of all this. It is too soon to say. First they must estimate how many houses were destroyed and the cost of replacing them. Already there is worry that the political leaders will pocket most of the money as they did in the 1976 earthquake relief effort. The area where I will be working in Baja Verapaz has been affected by the storm. The dirt roads, which are through steep mountains, usually are sliding without this type of rain, so it will be a while before they are passable again. So I thank all of you who continue to be so generous to our mission work. You added your little grain of sand to the work of building the kingdom here. Of course, more important is our awareness of how we form one family and how even if we can't solve all the problems in this world, we can offer our prayers and ask God to console those who mourn their loved ones. God bless you all,
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