After days spent counting the corpses buried by last weekend's devastating earthquake, Salvadorans began yesterday to count the economic cost of the disaster and apportion blame for some of the deaths, estimated at more than 700.
At least half of the deaths were caused by a landslide above the Las Colinas neighbourhood, which had been deforested by careless construction work.
Residents of Las Colinas complained that the government had allowed land-owners, over the years, to clear trees from the hillside, thus removing vital ground cover which contributed to last weekend's post-quake landslide.
A group of environmentalists and residents, including the local mayor, sued land-owners and construction companies last year to stop the deforestation process.
They lost the case, and angry residents argued this week that the resulting development had caused hundreds of deaths.
The emergency committee for the Santa Tecla region, which includes Las Colinas, said that 436 people had died in that neighbourhood alone, with 366 people missing and a further 18,000 evacuated from dangerous areas.
Las Colinas had the appearance of a mass burial site yesterday. Cars lay upside down and household goods were strewn about the area, lending a surreal atmosphere to the tragedy.
The Salvadoran parliament estimated damage at $1 billion, half the 2001 budget, with 40,000 homes destroyed along with hospitals, schools, roads, bridges and coffee plantations.
El Salvador's congress yesterday approved the reassignment of $650 million to the newly-established National Reconstruction Fund, most of it borrowed from international financial institutions.
Tens of thousands of people still slept outdoors in the early hours yesterday as strong aftershocks from Saturday's quake continued, rattling windows and triggering 185 landslides across this country of 6.2 million people. More than 10,000 slept at an outdoor sports complex converted into an impromptu shelter, where they were given fruit and blankets.
The Pan-American Health Organisation estimated that half the country lacked water supplies, raising fears of disease.
Meanwhile President Francisco Flores, his ministers, the armed forces and social movements co-ordinated foreign aid which flowed in from around the world.
It included $3.66 million in aid from Italy and an initial $1.88 million from the European Commission. Japan pledged $650,800.
"Each generation of Salvadorans has had to face tragedy. This has built the Salvadoran character. We are stoic, hard-working people full of hope," said Mr Flores, evoking memories of natural disasters and the 19801992 civil war that cost 75,000 lives.
The reality is more complex, however. A sharp rise in violent crime and long-term unemployment has made Salvadorans among the most pessimistic people in the region, according to public surveys.
Aid from abroad included US helicopters, Spanish dogs trained to sniff out corpses, Turkish and French medical personnel, search-and-rescue equipment and paramedics from around Latin America.
Spain's emergency volunteers, Firefighters without Frontiers, continued to place high-sensitivity microphones in the rubble, equipment capable of capturing the slightest sound. Four days after the event, however, hopes of finding more survivors have dimmed.
Yet the continuing search is a vital cathartic aid to despairing and traumatised relatives.