President Alvaro Colom of Guatemala has sounded the alarm over starvation in his country. Since the beginning of the year, drought and starvation have caused the deaths of 460 people.

Tens of thousands of families are under threat. President Colom has called it a public calamity. In doing so he releases money to tackle the situation.

The United Nations World Food Programme has promised 20 tonnes of food for the worst hit areas.

Up to now most of the fatalities have been in the poverty stricken north of the country, but drought is severely affecting the east as well. In some areas in the east, harvests have been decimated.