Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims of Hurricane Eta, which deluged Central America, claimed at least 50 lives and caused widespread flooding and property damage. Source: CNS.
The Pope prayed for those “struck by a violent hurricane, which has caused many victims and enormous damage, aggravated by an already difficult situation due to the pandemic”, during his Angelus address on Sunday.
“(May) the Lord welcome the deceased, comfort their families and sustain all those so tried, as well as all those who are doing their best to help them,” he said.
Caritas Internationalis was responding to Eta, which came ashore in Nicaragua on November 3 and provoked devastating flooding and destruction even as it weakened and moved through Central America.
Eta’s remnants exited Central America via the Caribbean Sea on November 6, heading toward Cuba and Florida. Heavy rains from the storm also affected southern Mexico, with floods displacing thousands in Tabasco state. Landslides claimed at least 19 lives in Chiapas state, according to local officials.
In Guatemala, rescue workers dug through mud to find bodies in the indigenous community of San Cristobal Verapaz, where a mudslide caused by the hurricane buried homes and left 100 people missing.
Guatemala’s bishops called on the country’s authorities to “rescue and immediately support those affected in the northeast departments of the country”.
In Honduras, officials put the death toll at 26 and said more than 1.7 million people were impacted by the storm.
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Eta deluges Central America, Mexico, leaving scores dead, thousands homeless (By David Agren, CNS)
