More than 350 residents of the Los Esclavos community, in Cuilapa, Santa Rosa, face million-dollar losses and the constant fear of new floods, after a flow of water and mud affected dozens of homes.
In the La Choricera neighborhood and the El Cementerio sector, residents live with the uncertainty of not knowing if the next rain will enter their homes again, as has happened in recent days.
Just two days ago, water and mud erupted without warning. What began as a seasonal rain event ended in an emergency that changed the lives of dozens of families. About 80 centimeters of water and mud flooded entire homes and swept away furniture, appliances and clothing.
“We have been left with nothing,” the neighbors repeat as they observe how little they managed to rescue.
Some came out with only the clothes they were wearing, and there were even children and elderly people who were on the verge of being left inside their homes, where the water reached their necks; However, neighbors managed to rescue them.
Darlyn García Arévalo, victim, said that when the water entered her house she was with her two little girls, whom she managed to get to safety; However, he said they were left with nothing, because the mud damaged their belongings.
“We were going to dinner when my husband called me to see that the current was coming. We put up some tarps, but it didn’t help us much. We were trapped because the gate closed due to the force of the mud,” García said.
Others returned hours later to find beds, armchairs, refrigerators and stoves buried under tons of mud and debris that came down from a hillside after a landslide caused by heavy rains, in a place where earthworks were being carried out illegally, according to neighbors and the community.
According to the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (Conred), the mud flow affected 52 homes and left 352 people affected in La Choricera alone.
Forty-eight hours after the disaster, the landscape is still desolate. The furniture that has become a total loss remains piled up in front of the homes, waiting to be removed by the collection trucks. What was once part of a home now occupies the edges of the streets.
At the entrances to several houses, neighbors have placed bags full of earth as improvised protective barriers. They do not guarantee safety, but they represent a desperate attempt to prevent a new flow of water and mud from once again destroying what little they have left.
Losses are difficult to calculate. Some families estimate damages of Q5 thousand; Others claim to have lost more than Q50 thousand. Among those affected are small merchants who not only saw their homes destroyed, but also the products with which they obtained their daily sustenance.
Emerson Barrera, another of those affected, commented that they face a difficult situation due to the flooding that, according to him, was caused by the work being carried out at the top of a nearby hill.
“We need everything, we have lost everything and thanks to the fact that many people have brought us groceries and food,” Barrera said.
Meanwhile, Wendy Hernández, an affected neighbor, said: “The water tore off the door and entered the four rooms; fortunately nothing happened to us. I have lived here for 14 years and this has never happened.”
The situation is especially complex for 29 families whose homes suffered severe damage.
Several houses remain empty while their owners seek refuge with family or friends, or in the shelter set up in the Community Hall.
Although the water receded, the emergency continues. Fear is still present in every forecast of rain and in every thunder that rumbles over the community.
Today, between streets covered in dry mud, destroyed furniture and walls marked by the level the water reached, the families of La Choricera have an urgent request: help to start over.
Conred counts more than 550 people affected in Santa Rosa by mud flows and floods.
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