Volcanic Ash causes milions to be Homeless
On June 3, 2018, the Guatemalan volcano "Volcan de Fuego" erupted unexpectedly. During those days, there was news about it everywhere ten days later we forgot about it. However, there are still people being affected because of the volcanic eruption. There are people who lost family, their homes, and their crops. People are suffering because they don’t have food or water or a place to live. Organizations are trying to help out however they don’t get help because people have forgotten of the incident since it’s not affecting them.
The eruption killed at least 110 people and about 200 more still missing. The volcano buried many villages in ash. More than 1.7million people were affected by the eruption. Many people lost their crops because they were affected by the ash. Many others had to evacuate their homes and are being housed in temporary shelters such as schools, churches, sports centers, and town halls etc. People who live near the volcano but weren’t affected still had to evacuate since the volcanic ash is toxic for their children and babies.
There are people still searching for everyone who is lost however, the process of recognizing people found is difficult since the volcano left them unrecognizable. Searching in the homes of those who live on the slopes of the volcano is another setback since their homes have ashes feet high. It’s going to take a lot of time before people are able to move back into their homes. Those cities that the volcano affected will also affect the jobs there since that’s where many tourists tend to go. The hotels have lost reservations and estimate about $2 million in losses. Tourism is 8% of Guatemala’s gross domestic product and this loss will affect the economy.
The reason Volcan de Fuego causes so much damage is that unlike the Hawaiian volcano Kilauea it is a composite volcano. Kilauea is a shield volcano which means it’s very wide about 4 thousand feet tall and when it erupts its lava travels underground for about thirty miles breaking the earth in multiple openings.
The lava tends to travel at less than .5 miles per hour and erupts about 250 feet high. However, the Guatemalan volcano is the opposite. It is steep and 12 thousand feet tall and the eruption reaches 47,000 feet high in the air through the main and only vent. Its lava travels over 50mph. people can't outrun it; it destroys everything in its path and then hardens into a dense mud.
Since it's been raining in Guatemala lately people are still in danger because the volcanic mudslides down the terrain causing mudslides. There are millions of people affected, and there are people searching for their families hoping that they're still alive. Imagine going to work the morning the volcano erupted only to come back home and find everyone in your family gone. It's important for people to keep trying to help the people who were affected because they are left homeless and their source of income came through crops that were destroyed.
I’m Guatemalan and I have family over there thankfully they weren’t affected they just lost power. If people are interested in helping even a dollar would be great. With a dollar, you get 8 Quetzales which is the Guatemalan currency. Eight Quetzales can buy a person 25 servings of drinking water. If interested in donating GoFundMe has a list of verified campaigns directed to help aid those impacted by the volcano. The Red Cross is also aiding in Guatemala called CruzRojaGT and its accepting monetary donations via money transfer. They are also asking for
blood donations and specific goods such as latex gloves, diapers, and soap. Any donation can help there are more organizations helping the cause you can go online and Google. If interested in bringing more attention to this issue you can raise awareness through social media. The Hashtags #PrayForGuatemala and #GuatemalaEstoyContigo have been the popular one's helping to bring attention to the devastation the volcano has caused. Although we are in a whole different country it's important to be aware of what's going on in other countries because maybe one day we will need help from them.
