Guatemala president says 37 dead in landslides caused by Eta

Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei said Thursday that a water-soaked mountainside in the central part of the country had slid onto the town of San Cristobal Verapaz, burying homes and leaving at least 25 dead. Before the massive slide, at least 20 deaths had been attributed to the storm across the region, including five in smaller slides in Guatemala.

Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei said Thursday that a water-soaked mountainside in the central part of the country had slid onto the town of San Cristobal Verapaz, burying homes and leaving at least 25 dead. Two other slides in Huehuetenango had killed at least 12 more, he said.

The announcement came as the death toll from Hurricane Eta climbed across Central America. The storm had weakened to a tropical depression and was about to re-enter Caribbean waters, but a week of torrential rains set off deadly landslides and flooding from Guatemala to Panama. Before the massive slide, at least 20 deaths had been attributed to the storm across the region, including five in smaller slides in Guatemala.