The death toll from a massive volcano eruption in Guatemala is now at 109. The eruption on Sunday was the volcano's most violent in four decades. CGTN's Harris Whitbeck reports from Guatemala City.  

Volunteers sort tons of donated aid, package it and load it onto trucks at a private airplane hangar in Guatemala City The trucks then drive for hours to reach shelters located near the Fuego Volcano and the villages full of people who refuse to leave their homes but are running out of supplies.

Aid continues to reach those who need it families receive kits containing purified water, food and other supplies. Shelters are filled with people passing the time waiting for word on what the future holds. Days after the fiery eruption, many start demanding answers.

HARRIS WHITBECK GUATEMALA CITY "As the immediate needs of survivors are addressed attention begins to turn towards figuring out exactly what happened and whether the official disaster response agencies reacted in a timely manner."

The National Commission for the Reduction of Disasters, CONRED, is under fire in the Guatemalan Congress, accused of not acting upon warnings from the institution in charge of monitoring volcanic activity that a major eruption was imminent.

Survivors say CONRED did not order evacuations in the affected villages until many of them were already engulfed in the toxic ash. The National Meteorological Institute, also charged with observing volcanic activity, says it started sounding the alarm early Sunday morning sending out nine separate bulletins in a space of six hours.

EDDIE SANCHEZ NATIONAL METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE "In all our bulletins we warned of pyroclastic flow, indicating there would be avalanches of hot gas traveling at great speeds."

CONRED defends itself saying it followed standard protocol for this type of situation. A former director of CONRED says those protocols work well if properly followed.

ALEJANDRO MALDONADO FORMER DIRECTOR, CONRED "They are based on mathematical formulas that calculate the average of constant, permanent volcanic activity and compare it to the deviations to determine the level of alert that should be issued."

But the timing of Sunday's evacuation orders is under scrutiny. The country's Foreign Ministry is also under fire Potential private donors say Guatemalan embassies in several countries refused offers of aid. As survivors wait for word on missing relatives and pass the time in shelters, the biggest question is if this could have been prevented, and how soon a sense of normality will return. Harris Whitbeck, CGTN, Guatemala City.