The aftermath of Guatemala's 1976 earthquake – in photos

James Hayman was travelling to the country when a 7.5 magnitude quake hit, killing over 22,000 people. Joining the relief effort as a volunteer, his images capture the scale of destruction and the process of rebuilding.

In early 1974, James Hayman was travelling through Central America with a friend. He'd completed a degree in photojournalism at a university in Washington D.C. a few years before – but, after pulling shifts at a local newspaper, decided that capturing the stories of the day wasn’t for him, and that he wanted to see the world outside of his home country.

“We were hoping to get all the way down to South America and we were waylaid in Mexico for a while,” Hayman says. “Then, just as we were travelling to Guatemala, the earthquake hit.”

On February 4, 1976, around 3AM local time, a disastrous 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit the country. With its centre located about 100 miles northeast of Guatemala City, its effects led to an estimated death toll of more than 22,000 people, left 76,000 injured and over a million homeless as houses, entire villages and almost half (40%) of the country’s hospitals were reduced to rubble.

Hearing about the tragedy, Hayman decided that he and his friend would continue onwards with their journey, passing through the country swiftly and leaving as light a footprint as possible. Hitching a ride with some students, the pair were driven across the border, past miles of destruction, and dropped off in Guatemala City where they spent a night at a hospital. It was there they received a proposal that would upend their plans.

“Some students from the American University came by and said: ‘Are you interested in doing any volunteer work for the UN?’” Hayman recalls. “So I said ‘yeah, absolutely’ and I spent the next four months working for the UN and also photographing.”

Top to bottom: A barbershop post-earthquake. Mountains outside Chichicastenango, Guatemala, 1976.

Nearly half a century later, a number of his black-and-white photographs, taken from his time helping with the country’s rebuilding and response effort are now presented in his series Guatemala, 1976. Travelling around the country’s wild terrain, Hayman would help provide communities with food, clothing and building materials. “We were going out to the middle of the jungle or up in the mountains and ask people what they needed because of the earthquake,” he says, with a gentle smile. “They would laugh at us and say: ‘We need everything we needed before the earthquake – we have nothing.’”

The pictures hint at the severe scale of the damage, from a cross atop a church knocked from its position to a makeshift barber shop erected among wrecked buildings. “The majority of buildings in Guatemala were made out of brick and mortar,” Hayman explains of how apparent the devastation was. “There was no such thing as being tested for earthquakes, so they just crumpled."

“The majority of people had [then] built houses made out of wood and thatched roots,” he adds. “For one because that was all they had but also there were always aftershocks and if the roof collapsed it was [less likely] to kill you in the way a concrete roof would.”

Top to bottom: San Francisco El Alto, Guatemala. Guatemalan Military, 1976. Panajachel, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.

While the situation was bleak, the shots also demonstrate a level of coming together and community as people rebuilt their villages, towns and lives. With candid close-up portraits of families and shots taken among tightly huddled crowds – a humanity and spirit of resilience shines through. For Hayman, seeing and being part of that process during the four months he spent in Guatemala would be deeply formative for him, both personally and professionally as a photographer.

“I was overwhelmed by the destruction – people that were forced to live in a tarp tent or under a thatched roof next to their destroyed home,” he says. “People not having electricity, or potable water, and then that led to [me thinking] I need to do whatever I can to help people. 

“It became a political thing for me, I became politically aware of the inequities in the world,” he continues. “It sent me on a path that I continued on today.”

Guatemala, 1976 and other photography by James Hayman can be seen on his website and Instagram.

Follow Isaac on Twitter.

Enjoyed this article? Follow Huck on Twitter and Instagram.

Latest on Huck

Red shop frontage with "Open Out" branding and appointment-only signage.
Activism

Meet the trans-led hairdressers providing London with gender-affirming trims

Open Out — Since being founded in 2011, the Hoxton salon has become a crucial space the city’s LGBTQ+ community. Hannah Bentley caught up with co-founder Greygory Vass to hear about its growth, breaking down barbering binaries, and the recent Supreme Court ruling.

Written by: Hannah Bentley

Cyclists racing past Palestinian flag, yellow barriers, and spectators.
Sport

Gazan amputees secure Para-Cycling World Championships qualification

Gaza Sunbirds — Alaa al-Dali and Mohamed Asfour earned Palestine’s first-ever top-20 finish at the Para-Cycling World Cup in Belgium over the weekend.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Crowded festival site with tents, stalls and an illuminated red double-decker bus. Groups of people, including children, milling about on the muddy ground.
© Alan Tash Lodge
Music

New documentary revisits the radical history of UK free rave culture

Free Party: A Folk History — Directed by Aaron Trinder, it features first-hand stories from key crews including DiY, Spiral Tribe, Bedlam and Circus Warp, with public streaming available from May 30.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Weathered wooden building with a tall spire, person on horseback in foreground.
Culture

Rahim Fortune’s dreamlike vision of the Black American South

Reflections — In the Texas native’s debut solo show, he weaves familial history and documentary photography to challenge the region’s visual tropes.

Written by: Miss Rosen

A collage depicting a giant flup for mankind, with an image of the Earth surrounded by planets and people in sci-fi costumes.
Culture

Why Katy Perry’s space flight was one giant flop for mankind

Galactic girlbossing — In a widely-panned, 11-minute trip to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere, the ‘Women’s World’ singer joined an all-female space crew in an expensive vanity advert for Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Newsletter columnist Emma Garland explains its apocalypse indicating signs.

Written by: Emma Garland

Three orange book covers with the title "Foreign Fruit" against a dark background.
Culture

Katie Goh: “I want people to engage with the politics of oranges”

Foreign Fruit — In her new book, the Edinburgh-based writer traces her personal history through the citrus fruit’s global spread, from a village in China to Californian groves. Angela Hui caught up with her to find out more.

Written by: Katie Goh

Huck is supported by our readers, subscribers and Club Huck members. It is also made possible by sponsorship from:

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter to informed with the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, featuring personal takes on the state of media and pop culture from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.