Attachments
Description of the disaster
On 3 June 2018, Guatemala's 3,763-meter (12,346-feet) Fuego Volcano erupted, killing a reported 75 people. The volcano emitted an 8-kilometer (5-mile) stream of hot lava and a dense plume of black smoke and ash that blanketed Guatemala’s capital, Guatemala City, and other regions. According to Guatemalan authorities, 12,089 people have been evacuated from the affected area (see map of affected areas), and the fatalities are concentrated in three towns: El Rodeo, Alotenango and San Miguel los Lotes. Guatemala’s president was considering declaring a state of emergency in the departments of Chimaltenango, Escuintla and Sacatepequez. Furthermore, Guatemala City's La Aurora international airport closed its only runway due to the presence of volcanic ash and the danger it poses to the safety of passengers and aircraft. The volcano is 25 miles (40 km) south-west of Guatemala City, and it is close to the tourist destination of Antigua1.
Volcanic ash continues to fall on communities such as La Soledad, San Miguel Dueñas, Alotenango, Antigua and Chimaltenango. The level of alert has been increased to red in the following departments: Escuintla, Alotenango, Sacatepéquez, Yepocapa and Chimaltenango, and CONRED opened three collective centres in the department of Escuintla. Local authorities said the volcano could cause more mud and pyroclastic flows, and heavy rains threaten to worsen the volcano’s impact by causing rivers to overflow their banks.
Summary of the current response
Overview of Host National Society
The GRC deployed a support team from its headquarters to Escuintla to carry out a needs assessment and provide support and guidance to Restoring Family Links (RFL), psychological support (PSS) actions and the provision of medical care in the collectives centres.
Furthermore, using its ambulances, the GRC is providing support to the transfers of burn patients.
The Guatemalan Red Cross develops national-level actions as established in the National Response Plan, which also determines the operational structure, lines of action and procedures that facilitate disaster response; the National Society has 100 staff members, 21 branches and more than 1,684 volunteers nationwide.
The GRC has implemented a cash transfer programme (CTP) in its last two Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) operations, one of which was completed in the last week of December 2017 and well received by the target community.
Overview of Red Cross Red Crescent Movement in country
There are Partner National Societies (PNSs) present in the country such as the Spanish Red Cross and Norwegian Red Cross, IFRC and the ICRC, with which the GRC president and general director maintain permanent institutional cooperation and coordination.
The IFRC provides support on Movement coordination through the regional office for the Americas (ARO)’s Disaster and Crisis Department, which maintains close communication with the Guatemalan Red Cross.
Overview of non-Red Cross Red Crescent actors in country
CONRED is responsible for the country's national response system, establishing the structure for the national, regional, departmental, municipal and local levels, and coordinating disaster preparedness and response actions. CONRED's operations centre is organized into response sectors and functions, in which the GRC is part of the Inter-Institutional Liaison System and the Humanitarian Aid and Assistance Coordination Centre (CCAH for its acronym in Spanish).