Introduction

Guatemala has been hited by several natural disasters. In this work we talk about three disasters that really affected the country: Hurricane Mitch, Agatha Storm, The earthquake, 76.

Hurricane Mitch

Hurricane Mitch affected Guatemala especiallythe last week of October and the first week of November of 1998 and the extent of the damage was really big, but lower than in other countries in the region. The alert of evacuation saved hundreds of human lives and effectively offset the risks tohealth of the population in the affected regions. the damage was less severe than in other countriesin the region. This was because the trajectory and behavior of the hurricane disaster prevention program that allowed an alert and evacuation population in danger and program building, strengthening and maintenancethe road network provided greater resistance to the effects of weather phenomenon.

Agatha Storm

The Agatha Storm is the first phenomenon weather in the year 2010. Agatha provoked a lot of rain and made a big destruction in Guatemala, more than 12 consecutive hours of rain with winds of 84 km/h on the Pacific coast. Many incidents began around the country. A lot of people lost their homes and some people lost everything they had. there are children who lost their parents. The storm affected all the country, more than 300 bridges were destroyed, 172 persons were killed, 101 missing persons and 148 injured persons.

Earthquake in Guatemala, 1976

On the morning of February 4, 1976, Guatemala was affected by an earthquake, at 3:03 am. The destruction lasted only 49 seconds and the intensity was 7.6 ° on the Richter scale. The Motagua fault, which crosses 80% of Guatemalan territory was the one that caused the earthquake. The epicenter was located 150 kilometers northwest of the city.

That morning, befor the sun comes up, people sat on the sidewalk. Some people who were saved, die when the second strong earthquake occurred at 3:30am, while they had returned home to try to get some valuables things or other persons who had been trapped in their homes.

23000 persons died that day, 76000 persons were injured, the earthquake affected all the country. More than a million homes, bridges, roads, public buildings and vital services were destroyed.