Latest news with #familias
CTV News
09-07-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Death toll from dozens of earthquakes in Guatemala rises to 3
Neighbours remain outside their homes in Palin, Guatemala, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, after a series of earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 3.0 to 5.6, according to authorities. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo) GUATEMALA CITY -- Authorities on Wednesday confirmed a third death in Guatemala a day after dozens of earthquakes shook the country, leaving crumbled walls and roads blocked by landslides. More than 150 earthquakes and aftershocks with magnitudes ranging from 3.0 to 5.7 have been reported since Tuesday afternoon. President Bernardo Arevalo said on social media that the latest victim was a woman who had been buried by debris south of Guatemala's capital. He expressed his condolences to the victims' families, and was visiting a town near the epicenter. The other two victims were men killed by falling rocks while travelling in a truck on a road in the department of Escuintla, firefighters said. In the affected areas, families slept overnight in the streets outside their homes as aftershocks continued. The tremors resulted in the evacuation of buildings, landslides and minor property damage, officials said, adding they were felt as far away as El Salvador. Arevalo said Tuesday that the main epicenter of the quakes was in the department of Sacatepequez, with aftershocks in the regions of Escuintla and Guatemala department.
Arab News
28-06-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Drilling for water in Venezuela's parched oil town
MARACAIBO: In Venezuela's oil capital of Maracaibo, a drilling frenzy has led to dozens of new wells — but the valuable liquid being pumped out is just water, not petroleum. In a symbol of the woes of Venezuela's crumbling economy, the once flourishing oil town of 2 million people is parched. Experts blame the nationwide shortage of drinking water on corruption and years of underinvestment and mismanagement by national and local governments, resulting in frequent water cuts. The corroding infrastructure has led to schools, homes, businesses, churches and health centers all digging their own wells — at a huge expense. A private well costs between $1,000 and $6,000, a fortune in the sanctions-hit Caribbean country where the minimum monthly wage is around $200. As a result, homes that come with a ready-made well and generator — Venezuelans also live with recurring power cuts — sell for a premium. While water rationing has been in place in Venezuelan cities for years, the situation in Maracaibo has become critical, as pumping stations break down, old pipes leak and reservoirs run dry. No water came out of the taps in certain parts of the city for over a month at the start of 2025. Manuel Palmar and six other families in the lower-middle-class neighborhood of Ziruma saw the writing on the wall four years ago. They each paid $2,500 to build a 12-meter-deep (40-foot) well, which can store up to about 80,000 liters (21,000 gallons) of spring water each week. Now when Palmar turns on the tap, water gushes out for free. The water is not fit for drinking due to its high salinity — saltwater from the Caribbean Sea seeps into Lake Maracaibo, a coastal lake used as a freshwater source — but 'it's perfect for washing clothes and flushing toilets,' he explained. 'It's a blessing!' the 34-year-old accountant said. There's a solution of sorts for every budget. Some residents fill 200-liter drums at official filling stations or communal taps for $2-$3. Others order a water truck to fill their building's tank for between $40 and $60. Some even recycle the water produced by the tropical city's ubiquitous air conditioners or collect rainwater. But those are all quick fixes. Over the past six years, more and more residents have begun digging wells to guarantee their long-term supply for the future. Gabriel Delgado has built about 20 wells in Maracaibo, including at a heart disease clinic and four private schools. He also built one at his mother-in-law's home: a gray cement cylinder, one and a half meters in diameter, buried under metal sheeting and rocks. Cobwebs dangle just above the water level, but as soon as he activates the pump, water pours forth. It's crystal clear, unlike the yellowish liquid that flows from the city's taps during the rainy season, and Delgado eagerly sips it. Venezuelans must receive authorization from health and environmental authorities before drilling a well, and they are required to provide water samples for testing to ensure it is fit for consumption once it's built. But not everyone bothers. Javier Otero, head of Maracaibo's municipal water department, told AFP that he had come across shallow artisanal wells built near sewers or polluted ravines. 'Some people drink water that is not potable, that is brackish,' he told AFP. The municipality has built seven wells to supply Maracaibo's poorer neighborhoods.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Swollen river washes away homes in Venezuela
STORY: :: June 26, 2026 :: Apartaderos, Venezuela :: Flooding after heavy rain devastates a town in Venezuela's western Merida state 'It washed away my whole house. I couldn't recover anything from my house. At that moment I could only think about my family that was sleeping inside the house. Thank God my guardian angel told me to come back home. That's what I did, I saved my family that was sleeping inside my home. Thank God I saved them, they are with me.' The heavy rainfall increased the flow of a river in the state of Merida in Venezuela, triggering floods that affected more than 270 families, according to the state government. Many residents also lost their belongings to the floodwaters. "It washed away my whole house. I couldn't recover anything from my house," said Jorge Luis Rivas with tears welling up in his eyes. "Thank God my guardian angel told me to come back home. That's what I did, I saved my family that was sleeping inside my home." The Venezuelan government has activated a special response plan, providing medical care, food, and supplies. No deaths have been reported. Other states in the Andean zone affected by rains caused by the passage of tropical waves include Tachira, Barinas and Trujillo.
CTV News
26-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Mexico's top court orders release of Ayotzinapa missing students case file
Relatives of the 43 missing Ayotzinapa students march to demand justice for their loved ones in Mexico City, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez) MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the attorney general's office to release a public version of its investigation file into the 2014 disappearance of 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College, one of the country's worst human rights atrocities. The case has been marred by missteps and interference, with Mexico's former top prosecutor arrested in 2022 in relation to the case. The court ruling, prompted by a request from a private citizen, requires the file to be made available on the prosecutor's website with confidential data redacted. For more than a decade, the government has promised action in finding those responsible, with investigations publishing varying accounts of what happened to the students from the southern state of Guerrero. In 2022, investigators acknowledged that local, state and federal officials had played a role in covering up their disappearance. International probes have ruled they were likely kidnapped and killed by organized crime members in cahoots with police. The attorney general's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling. The Supreme Court did not specify a deadline for compliance. Victims' families have long pressed for justice, though no one has been convicted in connection to the case. (Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Editing by Chris Reese)
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Powerful 6.3 magnitude quake shakes Bogota
A powerful, shallow 6.3-magnitude earthquake shook the Colombian capital of Bogota early Saturday, according to AFP reporters on the ground and the United States Geological Survey. The shallow quake struck at 9:08 local time near the city of Paratebueno in central Colombia, some 170 kilometers (105 miles) east of Bogota, the USGS said. Buildings shook, sirens blared around the capital and people rushed out into the streets, while social media users posted videos of swinging lights and furniture, though the images could not be immediately verified by AFP. Scores of people gathered in parks and outside buildings in their pajamas, with parents trying to calm frightened kids and others looking for pets that had run away. "This was very strong," said an elderly lady in Bogota trying to make her way down several flights of steps. Central Colombia is in a zone of high seismic activity. A 6.2 magnitude quake there in 1999, not far from Ansermanuevo, claimed nearly 1,200 lives. bur/md/st
