Guatemala on Verge of Stan Damage
Weather experts warned that Guatemala could be battered by natural phenomena with aftermath matching hurricane Stan, with the current season expecting 18 storms.

Hugo Hernandez, executive secretary of the National Disaster Reduction Coordination (CONRED), said hurricanes could be the worst, followed by quakes, volcanoes, freezing temperatures and drought.

He rated 25,000 people residing in high risk areas: 3,000-6,000 in mudslide areas and near 400,000 in flood areas.

He mentioned as the most serious threat saturated soil that may provoke mudslides and floods.

CONRED says the recent rains alone have caused 1,300 victims, affected 400 families, isolated 35 communities and caused evacuation of nearly 1,000 people.

Claudio Castanon, from the Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH), said the rains rose sea and river levels to over 59 inches above their normal levels.