"The worst problem now is the risk of epidemics," Alfonso Verdu, coordinator of Doctors Without Borders in Guatemala, said late on Saturday. "I don't think the situation in Santiago is under control."

He said 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 the Santiago.

Panabaj sat between a volcano and Lake Atitlan's turquoise waters in spectacular countryside that draws thousands of American and European backpackers every year.

But it disappeared on Oct. 5 under a deadly slick of mud, rocks and trees that poured hundreds of yards (meters) down the volcano after Hurricane Stan drenched the region with rain.

Police prevented people on Sunday from entering the stinking remains of the mostly buried town where authorities say there could be more than 1,000 dead, but stray dogs roamed among the ruins.

Santiago Mayor Diego Esquina estimated 4,400 people survived the disaster, and more than 150 of them were living at a convent in the village.

In one dank, small room, 20 people slept on dirty mattresses.

Happy to be alive, they said they were afraid to go to temporary buildings being built by the government because they were too close to where the mudslide occurred.

"I'm not going to that shelter," said survivor Maria Ratzan.

After struggling for days to move tons of mud and look 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 that 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.