2023-06-03 13:51:00
In 2018, a tragedy occurred that Guatemalans will never forget. It was a Sunday June 3 and everything was going normally, the weather forecast in some regions of the country indicated rain. However, In the communities around the Fuego Volcano, as well as in the capital, the atmosphere was warm..
Around 10 in the morning that Sunday, users on social networks began to share images of the colossus of fire in which the expulsion of ash was observed, something that for many was normal, since this volcano is one of the most active in Guatemala and Central America, Nobody imagined at that time what was about to happen.
Anguish, fear and terror
As the minutes progressed, the images of the eruption went viral and began to arouse the interest of the media and national and international institutions, since in them it was shown as the column of ash that the volcano ejected was getting larger to such an extent that its intensity and gray color came to contrast with the light blue of the sky.
Around 11 in the morning, said column of ash was already between 15 and 17 kilometers high, but after noon the alarms went off as if it were an apocalyptic episode taken from a movie or some series. The amount of pyroclastic flows increased to the point that it affected the departments of Sacatepéquez, Chimaltenango and Guatemala.
The awakening of a monster that did not give up
Hours later, the wind had already caused the ash to reach the departments of Escuintla, Quiché, El Progreso, Alta Verapaz and Baja Verapaz, western Honduras, the capital of El Salvador and even some areas of Chiapas, Mexico. that event was amazing. The uncertainty increased and by 3 in the afternoon the lava began to run through the “Barranca Grande” also known as “Las Lajas” until it reached the community called “El Rodeo”.
The pyroclastic flow buried the towns of La Reunion, Alotenango and San Miguel Los Lotes, but the worst came around four in the afternoon when the volcano entered an explosive phase. The anguish to survive seized the residents and it was then that the authorities of the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics decided to suspend flights at La Aurora International Airport.
Hopelessness, a bleak outlook
The volcano awoke with fury, leaving behind death and destruction, personnel from the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction, the Red Cross, Municipal and Volunteer Firefighters, the Guatemalan Army among other institutions and organizations were present in the affected towns, but The ash, stones and material ejected by the colossus covered the roads that lead to these communities, a situation that forced the rescue efforts to stop.
Night came and the darkness further complicated the situation. The next day the green of those regions was dyed black and white. The streets, the houses, the roofs, the plants had no color, some people were left with a mummified appearance., while the institutions are still working to rescue corpses buried in mountains of gray dust and rubble. In that place there was a smell of burnt sulfur, almost putrefied.
From majesty to panic
The floor burned, walking on that floor was like being on quicksand, because the shoes sank because just on Sunday everything was covered by a river of lava. The eyes burned, it was difficult to see the surroundings clearly due to the particles that the colossus expelled and that still remained in the environment. From majesty to panic, the survivors couldn’t believe what had happened and fear was still present.
No one gave credit to what happened that June 3. On the slopes of the volcano, the humble communities lived on agriculture and cattle; after the volcano woke up, they were nothing more than the backbone of misfortune. All was lost. The people who lived there were used to the rumblings of the colossus, but not yet a large-scale attack like the one they witnessed.
Those who managed to survive, it was because they ran away from the double onslaught, The first was the river of lava that devastated approximately 10 kilometers from the crater of Volcán de Fuego and found its way between ravines and valleys, and the second was the cloud of toxic smoke. Others managed to get out alive thanks to being rescued in time.
The damage count
According to the government report, which at that time was chaired by Jimmy Morales, indicated that The eruption of the Fuego volcano in Guatemala left 231 dead and more than 300 missing, in addition, it caused damage and losses valued at some 219 million dollars.
The most affected places were the villages, hamlets and colonies surrounding the Volcano, many of them belonging to the municipalities of Escuintla, Alotenango and San Pedro Yepocapa, which were buried by the violent pyroclastic flows. Additionally, two thousand people were evacuated to temporary shelters. Without a doubt, this is a tragedy that no one will forget.
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