Guatemala is preparing for the arrival of Julia, the tropical storm that strengthened this Friday, October 7, as it crossed the north of Colombia and Venezuela and which On his way, he expects to have an impact on the country between next Monday and Tuesday.
The National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (Conred) currently has around 1,855 shelters across the country, which could come into operation if necessary, according to the institution’s spokesperson, Rodolfo García.
Of the total number of shelters, most are concentrated in Huehuetenango (364), San Marcos (263), Quiché (206), Guatemala (124), Escuintla (111) and Santa Rosa (107).
Regarding the supply of supplies for shelters, García said that since the beginning of the rainy season, the departmental warehouses that would be ready if they will be needed due to the rains expected for next week.
Due to the interruption of rains in recent days, currently only the southern part of the country shows saturation levels above 70% in the upper soil layer (from 20 to 30 centimeters), while from 30 centimeters to one meter deep The Northern Transversal Strip, Petén, the Caribbean and Boca Costa currently have the highest levels.
Monitor the cold front and the storm
The rains in the country could intensify from Sunday, when a cold front also approaches Yucatan, Mexico, which could cause two meteorological effects to have effects in the region.
🔴 Guatemala on institutional red alert for COVID-19 and tropical storm Julia. pic.twitter.com/xh0yIGZbco
– CONRED (@ConredGuatemala) 8 October 2022
“The experience we have is that when the high pressure that displaces the cold front is blocked with a low pressure system, the most serious problem is that it makes it stationary, it has no movement and can increase its range and leaves more rain “, said César George, a meteorologist at the National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology (Insivumeh).
In the next 24 hours, Julia could strengthen her path across the Atlantic Ocean and reach a Category 1 hurricane; however, if it continues on the current route, it would cross Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras, but it could reach Guatemala being a tropical depression, according to the scientific entity.
The rains will begin to be felt starting on Sunday in the Northern Transversal Strip and in Petén, and then could increase in the central plateau, and by Tuesday, in the south coast.
INSIVUMEH reports:
Monitoring continues for tropical storm Julia located at 12.8 N and 75.2 W within our warning area (green zone). The system continues to move west at a speed of 30 km / h, slowly approaching Central America. 1/4 pic.twitter.com/KLJSKBnTMC– INSIVUMEH Guatemala (@insivumehgt) 8 October 2022
According to George, it is expected that there will be places where between 150 and 200 millimeters of rain will fall in two or three days as the storm passes, but they fear that in the case of Puerto Barrios, in Izabal, floods occur when more than 75 millimeters of rain are overcome in about three to five hours.
Given the possibility that Julia may have an impact on the country, Guatemala has declared itself on institutional red alert, according to Conred publications.
The indirect and direct effects of this system will begin to manifest on Sunday with intermittent rain and drizzle, starting a rainy season that will last for the beginning of the week. 3/4 pic.twitter.com/rSiAFqKRZd
– INSIVUMEH Guatemala (@insivumehgt) 8 October 2022
