The Miami Herald
September 17, 2000

Floods kill 20 in Guatemala

 GUATEMALA CITY -- (AP) -- Floods and mudslides from four days of torrential
 rains have wrecked buildings and bridges and swept through villages in
 Guatemala, leaving at least 20 people dead, officials said Saturday.

 Authorities have evacuated more than 200 families.

 Three people were rescued Saturday from a school that collapsed under the
 weight of heavy rains in Zacapa, 70 miles northwest of Guatemala City.

 In the mountain hamlet of Teleman, 125 miles north of the capital, crews Saturday
 recovered the bodies of 15 people swept away by strong currents Wednesday
 while trying to push a pickup across a river. Nine others in the truck survived.

 On Thursday, mudslides buried two poor communities on the hillsides outside the
 capital, killing three children and one woman.

 Forecasters expected the rains to continue.