Guatemala City, Guatemala— Heavy rains triggered a destructive mudslide in Quiché on October 16, 2026, killing two children, and the slide buried their home while the family slept inside. The rain had lasted two days. The hill could not hold.
CONRED, the national disaster agency, said the landslide occurred before dawn in a hamlet near Santa Cruz del Quiché. Saturated soil collapsed onto three adobe houses. Two children, aged 7 and 10, siblings, were trapped under mud and wooden beams. Their parents survived with injuries.
Neighbors dug with bare hands for an hour before rescue teams arrived. The road was blocked by debris, delaying heavy equipment. "We heard the mountain crack, then the houses were gone. We tried to pull them out," a neighbor told Prensa Libre, covered in mud.
Prensa Libre reported that Quiché has faced continuous rainfall this week, with rivers rising and hillsides saturated. Many rural homes sit on unstable slopes with no retaining walls. Deforestation and informal construction increase risk. Alerts were issued but not all families evacuated.
A CONRED official said, "We have two minors deceased. We evacuated 25 families from the same sector. The area remains at high risk. More rain is forecast." He said an emergency shelter was opened in a local school and food is being distributed.
The children's bodies were carried out wrapped in blankets. Their mother was taken to the regional hospital with fractures. The father stayed at the site, refusing to leave. The family had lived there for eight years.
The municipality declared a local emergency and requested machinery to clear the road. Civil protection teams are monitoring two other slopes that show cracks. Volunteers are distributing tarps.
By midday, rain continued. The hillside was still moving. Crews kept digging with shovels.
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