The Observer Sunday September 17, 2000 2:50 am GUATEMALA CITY (AP) - Floods and mudslides from four days of torrential rains have wrecked buildings and bridges and swept through villages in Guatemala, leaving at least 20 people dead and dozens injured, officials said Saturday. Authorities have evacuated more than 200 families, while collapsed bridges have caused dozens of injuries. Major highways were flooded and more than 50 homes have been destroyed throughout the country. Crews rescued three people Saturday from a school that collapsed under the weight of heavy rains in Zacapa, 70 miles northwest of Guatemala City. In the tiny mountain hamlet of Teleman, 125 miles north of the capital, crews Saturday recovered the bodies of 15 people swept away Wednesday by strong currents while trying to push a pickup truck across a river. Nine others in the truck survived. On Friday, a mudslide demolished a home on the southwestern outskirts of Guatemala City, killing an 8-year-old girl. That same day, the Concepcion River overflowed its banks after officials opened the flood gates of a dangerously full dam, flooding at least 20 homes and injuring 10 people in Escuintla, 30 miles south of Guatemala City. On Thursday, mudslides buried two poor communities on the hillsides outside the Guatemalan capital, killing three children and one woman. Authorities evacuated two dozen other families from the same area early Saturday before more falling mud engulfed their homes. One person remained missing, authorities said. Heavy rains also forced the evacuation of more than 100 people from mountain villages in three other northern Guatemalan states, authorities said. Forecasters expected the rains to continue. Guatemalan Health Minister Mario Bolanos said the tragedies have occurred in areas where people have been warned of the dangers but have refused to move. ``People say they aren't afraid and choose to live in areas that during the rainy season are always hit with mudslides and floods,'' Bolanos said. ``The tragedies we are seeing now are in areas that everyone knew were unsafe.'' _______________________________________________ Crashlist resources: http://website.lineone.net/~resource_base To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/crashlist
