Guatemala closes the rainy season with 23 dead and more than 225,000 people affected

The 2026 rainy season left 23 people dead and more than 225,000 affected in Guatemala. (Conred Guatemala) Guatemala closed the 2026 rainy season with 23 people dead, one missing, and 225,327 affected, after responding to 2,377 emergencies from April 19 to October 31. The report by the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) placed Alta Verapaz as the department with the highest number of incidents from floods and landslides. The rains also left 44 injured, 30 hospitalized, and 15,584 people affected in their homes. A total of 32,229 people were evacuated from their homes, and 1,479 remained housed in shelters set up by the authorities. The 2026 rainy season left 23 people dead and more than 225,000 affected in Guatemala. (Conred Guatemala) Floods accounted for 728 of the emergencies recorded in the country, equivalent to 30.7% of the total. Fallen trees ranked second with 379 cases, followed by damage to agricultural production, which reached 280 incidents. Landslides added up to 269 cases, while there were 192 reports of strong winds, 151 slope collapses, and 98 instances of ground erosion. CONRED also counted 88 structural collapses, 66 mudflows, 36 rockfalls, and another 36 sinkholes. The official record included 12 structural cracks, eight people swept away by rivers, eight episodes of high surf, and seven cracks in the ground. Five hailstorms, four electrical storms, four cases of environmental contamination, three lahars, and one slab fracture were also reported. The 2026 rainy season left 23 people dead and more than 225,000 affected in Guatemala. (Conred Guatemala) Alta Verapaz accumulated 618 emergencies, more than a quarter of the events attended nationwide. The department lies within the Northern Transversal Strip, a zone where the top layer of soil exceeded 90% saturation during October, according to previous bulletins from the National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology (Insivumeh). The department of Guatemala recorded 213 emergencies, followed by Izabal with 194 and Quiché with 140. Quetzaltenango counted 125 incidents, Sacatepéquez 118, Petén 111, San Marcos 109, and Suchitepéquez 86. Totonicapán was the department with the fewest emergencies, with 12, while Jalapa had 20. Chiquimula, Zacapa, Jutiapa, Escuintla, Retalhuleu, Santa Rosa, El Progreso, Baja Verapaz, Sololá, and Chimaltenango recorded between 14 and 94 cases. The rainfall damaged 15,584 homes in Guatemala. Of the total, 525 suffered minor damage, 14,584 had moderate damage, and 475 were left with severe damage; another 1,085 were classified as being at risk, although no houses were reported completely destroyed. The Executive Secretariat of CONRED and the local disaster reduction coordinators carried out damage assessments and needs analyses in the affected areas. The institution explained that these inspections made it possible to determine "the location of the homes, the type of event recorded, and the severity of each case." Road infrastructure also suffered consequences: 717 roads, 41 bridges, 55 schools, 25 buildings, and 23 sections of the electrical grid were affected. The toll included damage to a drinking water system and the destruction of four bridges, while no school was left completely unusable. Soil saturation reduced the ground's capacity to absorb new rainfall and favored the movement of water toward rivers and streams. That condition raised the risk of flash floods and sudden flooding in Alta Verapaz, Izabal, Quiché, and Zacapa. Although the rainy period officially ended, Insivumeh maintained forecasts of scattered rainfall in Petén, the Caribbean, and the Northern Transversal Strip at the end of October due to the influx of moisture from both coastlines. CONRED recommended updating family response plans, identifying evacuation routes, and keeping an emergency backpack ready during the transition to the cold season.