President Otto Perez Molina declared a state of emergency on Monday in 16 of its 22 provinces, which have been affected by one of the country’s worst droughts that is threatening over 200,000 families with “famine”.
In an address to the nation also published on social networks, Perez warned that around 1.2 million Guatemalans risk “being without food supplies in their homes over the next months”. The population was called to respond to what the President called a “natural disaster”.
“If we don’t act your lives will be in danger. There are over 500,000 children that event risk death”, added the Head of State, pointing a finger at the west for climate change that is mainly devastating nations of the South. Calling also for international aid, Perez insisted on a sense of patriotism: “It is time to act and face this situation with a sense of responsibility”.
The state of emergency is necessary to speed up emergency responses to the severe drought. The affected departments are Jutiapa, Chiquimula, Santa Rosa, Quiché, El Progreso, Huehuetenango, Baja Verapaz, Zacapa, Retalhuleu, Sololá, Totonicapán, Chimaltenango, San Marcos, Guatemala, Suchitepéquez and Jalapa.
