Mudslides in Guatemala

(I am woefully behind in keeping up with this blog, but will address a breaking new item for now...)

You may have heard today about mudslides here in Guatemala. Here's what we know.

First, we are OK. We live near the base of a mountain, but if we did have a mudslide here, it would have to go through some small structures and a large gas station. We wouldn't probably be buried but maybe if the gas station exploded... uh oh.... haha.

We've had a pretty dry 'rainy season' (about April - November) but about two weeks ago it started raining a LOT. The rain brings destabilized mountainsides.

Here are the other news reports we've heard:

SOLOLA - This news reports says a mudslide took place in the town of Sololá which is in the departamento/'state' of the same name. (The town of Solola is just up the mountain from us, maybe 12 minutes by car.) However, this news report is incorrect.
http://abc13.com/news/hundreds-feared-dead-in-mudslide-in-guatemala/1012971/

But in some photos in the following link, it has pictures of big landslides that took place in two places  here - both Guatemala City and in the departamento (state) of Solola, near the town of Nahuala. For those that know the area, it is between the cutoff from CA1 highway and Xela/Quetzaltenango. (My cleaning lady knew exactly where it was based on the clothes, since each region tends to have their own design/fabrics that identify their region).
http://www.emirates247.com/landslides-kill-dozens-in-guatemala-1.288055



GUATEMALA CITY: this is the one we have heard about. It's on the outskirts of Guatemala City, about two and a half hours from us, just a short distance behind the airport. Tragic.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3258577/Hundreds-people-missing-mudslides-hit-Guatemala-trapped-victims-text-relatives-underneath-tonnes-mud-rocks.html


Here's a map of Guatemala City. The area, Santa Catarina Pinula, is in pink in the lower right.

We are, of course, saddened about the terrible losses of so many. We do not yet know if any of our brothers were among the dead or missing.

Landslides are fairly common in rainy season, but at worst they usually may just block the road or be an inconvenience. But sometimes these tragedies occur as well with heavy rain.