Everything in Guatemala City had a thick layer of ash over it. You could feel the ash crunching underneath your sandals.
Just hours after Guatemala’s Volcan de Fuego erupted Sunday night, Chattanooga-area resident Miriam Lemon got a phone call.
It was Karla Mogollon, doctor and director of the Guatemalan clinic operated by the nonprofit organization Lemon founded, Love In Action, breaking the news to her.
Emergency crews have been pulling bodies from what remains of villages devastated by the eruption, but time was quickly running out to find survivors late Wednesday as the confirmed death toll rose to 99, with nearly 200 still missing, according to The Associated Press.
Authorities had to suspend search and recovery efforts Wednesday afternoon, citing the dangers posed by rain and new flows of volcanic material and debris.