Hurricane Stan Reconstruction and Relief Information

In early October 2005, rains spawned by Hurricane Stan caused serious flooding and mudslides in Guatemala. They caused over 1,000 deaths, left many hundreds of thousands homeless, and caused serious damage to houses, crops, roads, bridges, and communications.

This page will give you some information on the situation in Guatemala and will tell you how you can offer support in assisting communities there to rebuild. At the end you will find some links to additional information on the situation in Guatemala. This page last updated 23 January, 2006.

Update, January 2006: Needs in the areas hit by Hurricane Stan continue even though international attention has dropped off dramatically. For an excellent summary of the effects of the hurricane and the ongoing needs of its victims 3 months later, see "Devastation, under the radar", an article from the January 23, 2006 edition of the St. Petersburg Times (Florida).

See below for:

What Happened

Hurricane Stan moved across the Gulf of Mexico and then traversed southern Mexico on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 4 and 5. As it crossed Mexico it quickly lost strength -- but while its winds were weak, Stan spawned several days of very heavy rains in southern Mexico, western Guatemala, and El Salvador. Because this is the rainy season, the ground was already saturated and there was no place for the water to go. The result was severe flooding and mudslides throughout the affected areas.

The place you've probably heard the most about is Panabaj, a neighborhood of Santiago Atitlan on the shores of Lake Atitlan. Santiago Atitlan is a Tzutujil Maya town of about 40,000. Panabaj, with about 5,000 inhabitants, was completely destroyed by a mudslide at around 1:30 AM on October 5th. This accounts for perhaps half the total Guatemalan death toll to date.

Panabaj -- and other similar areas elsewhere -- will likely be declared a mass burial ground (Tierra Santa or "holy ground") because it is too difficult and dangerous to continue searching for bodies. For many Maya families this is likely to be a painful reminder of those who disappeared during Guatemala's civil war, when they were unable to find and bury their dead according to religious requirements.

While Panabaj has received most of the press coverage, there are dozens to hundreds of similar stories on perhaps a smaller scale throughout the western and southwestern parts of the country and along the Pacific coast. The destruction has been described as worse than that caused by the much more powerful Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

We have spoken with our partners at the Guatemala Stove Project and the Ixchel Women's Project, both located in the Quetzaltenango (Xela) area. Xela is Guatemala's second-largest city, and at the center of one of the heavily affected areas. They tell us that while there was not mass destruction as in Panabaj, most of the communities they work in were affected, and many houses were destroyed. There are great needs for support to rebuild housing particularly. There are also serious ongoing problems in the area with shortages of food, gasoline, and water; and related price gouging.

What is Being Done

In general while the situation is very difficult and resources are limited, the response has been well-organized and aid is coming in. Bridges are being rebuilt, roads are very slowly being reopened, and telephone service is slowly coming back to normal (if you are trying to reach people you know in Guatemala, keep trying -- service is intermittent). However, many communities are still isolated and there is a huge amount of work to be done.

The effort has now shifted from rescue and recovery to reconstruction, and the needs for support in this work are great and will be present for a long time. Official statistics from CONRED, Guatemala's federal disaster relief agency, show over 10,000 homes damaged or destroyed; 140,000 people staying in 750+ shelters; a total of 1.5 million people affected; and 125+ roads and 185+ bridges damaged or destroyed. The actual totals in most categories are likely higher.

Many groups are working to provide aid, ranging from the Guatemalan, US, and many other governments, to major NGOs like the Red Cross and Oxfam, to dozens of smaller groups such as ourselves and several of the other organizations listed below.

How You Can Help

We have identified a range of ways that you can contribute, and we urge you to respond to one or more of these appeals. Given the need for long- term assistance we particularly encourage you to consider making a regular monthly contribution to the group or groups you choose.

(1) Contributions to GAFN partners in the Xela (Quetzaltenango) area -- the Ixchel Women's Project and the Guatemala Stove Project:

(2) Contributions for Santiago Atitlan / Panabaj:

(3) General contributions:

(4) Contributions from outside the USA:


Thanks so much for your support, and feel free to contact us at matlaid@guatefam.org with any questions.

Additional Information and Links

Here are some links -- in addition to those already given above -- to stories and pictures of the disaster and ongoing recovery and relief efforts:

General news stories:

Lengthy photo gallery / slide show of mudslides, flooding, and relief efforts (caution -- some images are disturbing and may not be appropriate to show to children):

Links to many stories on relief efforts, including maps showing areas affected by flooding:

Story on food shortages:

Personal stories and pictures: