Guatemala Volcano Evacuation: Officials Admit Warnings Came Too Late, Search Operations Suspended

Search and recovery efforts were suspended by rescuers at villages devastated by Guatemala’s Volcano of Fire on Thursday, prompting people to take up the work themselves.

Extreme weather conditions and still-hot volcanic material were making it dangerous for rescuers to proceed with their work, national disaster agency Conred reported.

Heavy rains and volcanic activity hindered the search operations but when the rescue team was able to work, the death toll continued to grow. Pablo Castillo, a national police spokesman, said the region faced heavy rains Wednesday because of which the soil became unstable.

Various residents have been taking up rescue operations in order to find their family members.

Francisco Chavez, an accounting student, said, “They are cleaning the highway — the president has commitments to businesspeople. … But here, since the people have nothing to offer him, he leaves this part as a burial ground.”

Another resident of the region, Nohemi Ascon, whose father, mother and sister were missing, said, “It is their job. It is not right that they leave them there. They should get them out so we can take them to the cemetery,” TIME reported.

“We looked for them in shelters, hospitals, everywhere, but we did not find them,” said Oscar Chavez who trekked over a mountain to look for his brother, sister-in-law and nephew.

Officials acknowledged Wednesday evacuation orders and life-saving alerts came too late for many living near Fuego volcano, BuzzFeed News reported.

Seismologists warned the possibility of pyroclastic flows, fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter eight hours before the main eruption Sunday but Conred failed to impose mandatory evacuation orders.

Officials of the country's disaster agency and volcanic monitoring agency are in a conflict over who is responsible for the late warning, after more than 100 people were killed, 200 others reported missing and more than 12,000 evacuated.

Sergio Cabañas, the head of Conred, said bulletins from the country's volcanic monitoring agency were not specific.

"We don't issue alarms or create alerts," said the head of Guatemala's volcano and seismic activity monitoring agency, stating that their work was to provide the bulletins so Conred can issue alerts and evacuations.

“By God, what happened? You were the one that should have done something, out of human decency,” said Mario Taraceña, a lawmaker and a vocal critic of Conred’s reaction. “Nobody can know what happens in the volcano, but nobody can be ignorant of what is plainly said in a bulletin.”

Satellite photos released Thursday showed the before and after of the destruction. San Miguel Los Lotes, a village which once had a collection of modest homes, was almost completely buried by lava.

“We should not underestimate the scale of this disaster. Critical, emergency needs are still enormous, and affected communities will need sustained and long-term support,” International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) president Francesco Rocca said. “We hope it will not mean a secondary disaster.”

IFRC put in more than $253,000 for the rescue efforts. The White House also promised the arrival of emergency aid including food, water and sanitation soon, Sky news reported.