Thousands of people from Panabaj are crammed into churches and houses in the nearby village of Santiago and other towns, while the government races to build temporary housing.
"The worst problem now is the risk of epidemics," Alfonso Verdu, coordinator of Doctors Without Borders in Guatemala, said late Saturday. "I don't think the situation in Santiago is under control."
He states doctors have seen dozens of cases of diarrhea among survivors, as well as dysentery, Hepatitis A and chicken pox. Thousands of people were vaccinated against tetanus last week in the main square of Santiago.
Santiago Mayor Diego Esquina estimates 4,400 people survived the disaster, and more than 150 of them were living at a convent in the village.
After struggling for days to move tons of mud, and search for survivors and victims' bodies, Panabaj was declared a mass grave and is now covered in white lime to prevent the spread of disease.
Fishermen were frustrated that fishing in Lake Atitlan has been banned because of fears contaminated fish could trigger disease.
"They don't want us to fish for the next six months or so because the corpses of dogs or chickens washed away into the lake might have contaminated the water," said Gaspar Coquix.
"We are suffering," said Coquix, a father of five. "We don't even have money to buy drinking water."
