San Antonio Palopó In Lake Atitlan Hardest Hit; 20 Lives And 60 Homes Lost

Santa Catarina lose two lives and 64 homes;  San Pedro la Laguna) one 10-year-old girl and 50 homes lost

By Bill Muirhead
July 1, 2010

LAKE ATITLAN – Twice now in five years tropical storms have devastated the Lake Atitlán region. Hurricane Stan in October 2005 ended the rainy season with massive destruction of property, loss of lives, homes,and crops, and the tragic interment by mud of 800 or so residents of Cantón Panabáj, Santiago Atitlán.

Last month tropical storm Agatha opened the rainy season in a fury, catching us all by surprise, two days of heavy rainfall capped by 36 hours of
torrential downpours. Then suddenly on the afternoon of May 29th, almost simultaneously throughout the region, the earth reached its saturation point and things fell apart.

Cerro Lec, a huge land mass above Panajachel, has been falling steadily in the direction of the Rio la Vega for over a year.

Late afternoon the 29th much of the Cerro gave way in a gush, clogging La Vega with mud. When the mud broke free again, La Vega raged to the Rio San Francisco, which swelled over its banks and roared into town down main- street. Mud, tumbling boulders, and angry waters swept away homes, inundated others, and removed a section of the bridge to Santa Catarina Palopó.

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