Guatemala City – Today (6/26) IOM, the UN Migration Agency, announces its support of Guatemalan efforts to assist people affected by the eruption of Volcán de Fuego. IOM support is focused on shelter management, the development of information systems for monitoring displaced people, the evaluation of damaged infrastructures and the assistance of migrants in transit.

"After the first eruption on 3 June, IOM and a UN inter-agency team mobilized at the site to make an account of the immediate needs in the shelters and made itself available to the government through the Social Work Secretariat of the President's Wife (SOSEP), the governing body of the shelters,” said Sebastián Berkovich, IOM Response Coordinator.

The eruption has so far left 1.7 million people affected, 12,823 evacuated, 3,613 in temporary shelters, 197 missing and 110 deceased, in the departments of Escuintla, Chimaltenango, and Sacatepéquez, where the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) has maintained an orange alert.

IOM is providing computer equipment to SOSEP to launch a Shelter Integrated Registration System (SIRA in Spanish) which allows the institution to generate a shelter census quickly and systematically. A shelter management methodology will also be delivered to provide minimum standards in the assistance of the affected population, following national legislation and with resources from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

IOM is also contributing to improving the living conditions of the people displaced by the eruption in the collective centers, by creating safe spaces, mainly for the populations in situations of vulnerability. The organization will also evaluate the damaged infrastructure in the regions.

Finally, IOM will implement its Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) to identify sectoral needs and will provide inputs for the government, international organizations, social organizations and other stakeholders to be able to make informed decisions for the care of those who need it.

For more information, please contact IOM Guatemala, Melissa Vega, Tel: +502 2414 7401, Email: mevega@iom.int, or Alba Miriam Amaya, Tel: +503 2521 0511, Email: aamaya@iom.int