I cannot believe it is August since I last blogged, and the topic of conversation is still the same.....rain!!!
We are now into our 11th consecutive day of almost non stop rain. There we were thinking that the rainy season was almost at an end and could only get better! What our friends here have told us is that last year was unusual, in that not enough rain fell, and that the end of the rainy season is generally worse. Indeed, it is certainly going out with a bang!
President Funes declared a national state of emergency, and all schools have been closed since last Thursday. We had to go into school to do paperwork on Thursday, and Andy was in yesterday and today for a couple of ours to see the kids from his IB and IGCSE classes, but apart from that the kids have been receiving work via email, to complete at home. I had to go in this morning but got told to go home at 9:00.
By having the kids come into school, on the pretext of bringing in supplies to be distributed to those who have lost everything (and having timetabled contact time with their teachers whilst in school), I think the school has come under criticism from the government, and apparently made the local tv news.
Indeed, the Ministry of Education website (which has become a favourite to read) says:
"To all public and private education system, from kindergarten to higher education institutions, please abide by the suspension of classes, made by the President, Mauricio Funes, through an Emergency Ordinance Nacional. Given this Decree all, without exception, are subject to decisions taken by the President, who is the highest authority of the Civil Protection System....."
We have just received notification that school remains closed until Monday 24th October (at the earliest) and the email that we received from our school principal made us chuckle:
"please note staff are free to come to school or work from home. We will NOT be opening this Saturday and are not planning to use the Half Term holiday as make-up time."Hmmm, let me think.....when he proposed lessons this Saturday from 7:00-12:30 there were murmerings......if he had cancelled half term I think there would have been a riot!!!!
I have become an avid reader of local newspapers (online, with Google assisting my limited Spanish) and blogs from fellow expats in different parts of the country.
Voices El Salvador tells of the problems caused by the water being discharged from the September 15th dam.....
"The September 15 Dam just upriver from the Lower Lempa has been releasing as much as 12,000 cubic meters per sec..... 2500 cm/sec is cause for extreme alarm. As of an hour ago, the river remains 10.5 meters (34 feet) above normal."
That is very hard to comprehend.....but 34 feet of water is a lot no matter how you look at it.
According to LaPrensaGrafica, a national newspaper, there are now 32 people dead and 2 missing, and 48,723 people housed in 566 shelters, out of a total population of just 5,744,113.
El Salvador's Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Hernan Rosa Chaves explained:
"On Wednesday a cold front is expected, which will displace the rains in the country. She said that with the cold front will begin the country's transition period from the wet season to dry, and she reminded us that the hurricane season ends on Nov. 30th . She added that during the early hours of Thursday it will rain more intensely in the country, but during the day, the cold front will begin to enter the territory of El Salvador and by Thursday will have the full influence of the phenomenon. The authorities have called on people to shelter the children and elderly people, the population more susceptible to autoimmune diseases. Temperatures could drop to 14 degrees Celsius in the highlands of the country."The extra rainfall is not going to improve an already dire situation, and the cold temperatures, along with the damp, and cramped living conditions in shelters is likely to cause health problems.
"The majority of queries served in shelters diseases are repspiratory, with a total of 3,664 cases, while gastrointestinal illnesses rank second, with 228 cases. Other common causes of medical consultations are skin diseases and disorders of anxiety and depression."It is difficult to comprehend how much loss and devastation the country has suffered. Where we live life goes on pretty much as normal. We have a roof over our heads and a cupboard full of provisions. we are dry and safe. The roads are not too bad, shops are still open, and we can still go about our daily lives. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost what little they had.
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| Corps relief workers in Ciudad Arce, by the overflow of the river San Carlos. |
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| Closed section of road to the port of La Libertad, due to landslide at km 17, as the last few hours of rains wreak havoc nationwide. |
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| The picture aboveshows Carolina Tatiana Saavedra, 17 days old, being carried by her mother Laura Dalila Garcia, 28 years, who along with her other daughters Alexandra and Yesenia, aged 3 and 12 respectively are also sleeping in the Gym Adolfo Pineda. |
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| Residents of the village of San Antonio in Comasagua, remain in the Gym Adolfo Pineda of Santa Tecla, after they were evacuated. |
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remain in the Gym Adolfo Pineda of Santa Tecla, after they were evacuated.
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