UPDATE (6/8/18): Facebook has announced it will enter the Guatemalan disaster relief field by matching donations made specifically for that purpose up to $250,000. (Click here for details.) As of today, the death toll is at 109, hundreds more are missing, and destruction is incalculable. Click here for the latest news and analysis of the situation.

(Originally published 6/6/18)

News on the volcanic eruption in Hawaii receives regular updates via the media. However, a deadlier eruption in Guatemala received some initial coverage, but it quickly has dissipated.

In the last 72 hours, the Central American nation has been left reeling by the most violent volcanic eruption in 44 years.

The Fuego volcano spewed lava, ash, rocks and deadly hot gas onto hillside villages, killing at least 65 people, according to early reports. More than 3,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, while the entire community of El Rodeo is said to be buried.

As always in the instances of natural disasters anywhere in the world, ShelterBox is taking immediate steps to help.

ShelterBox has aid pre-positioned in Guatemala and nearby Panama and is sending an assessment team to see how it might be able to help families who have lost everything in the most devastating volcanic eruption in Guatemala since 1974.

“We are in contact with colleagues and Rotary partners in the country to understand whether and how we can help,” the aid organization said in a statement. “:ShelterBox has deployed to Guatemala on four previous occasions. The first response was a flood in 2005, then another flood and a tropical storm in 2010, and an earthquake in 2012.

“Any donation you can give today will help families in desperate need. We need your support now to reach more families without shelter. Thank you. Your support will help us change lives.”

Anyone who wishes to donate any amount, large or small, to this effort or any of the many other ongoing ShelterBox efforts can do so by clicking here.