A tragic Colombia landslide has led to 15 people dead and several injured after heavy rains in Dosquebradas city. The disaster management agency of the country reported the landslide incident destroyed and covered several homes in debris in the central region. 34 are currently reported injured while others are either being rescued or under supervision.
The Risaralda province was hit with tragedy following heavy rains that affected the mountains covering houses from above. Authorities at the location are busy rescuing everyone affected or still stuck in the Colombia landslide.
UNGRD wrote on Twitter about the update when initially 14 were reported dead and 35 injured, they confirmed another casualty on Twitter, “After 24 hours of having presented an emergency in Pereira and Dosquebradas due to falling material on the Otún River, this is the number of people affected: 34 people injured, 15 people dead, 4 people missing. Search operations will resume at 6:00am.”
Residents who were nearby have been moved to safer areas while the rescue operation goes on. The houses destroyed were built on typical mountainous terrain in Columbia, which are generally at risk due to high rates of landslides in the area, therefore this Colombia landslide was not unusual for the region. The Rainy season especially brings up even riskier structures that are weak and unstable due to continuous water absorption.
CNN reports a taxi driver Dubernei Hernandez told AFP, “A very loud noise scared us. We went out and saw a piece of the mountain on top of the houses. I went to that place and it was a disaster, with people trapped.” Hernandez helped rescue teams in digging up bodies and survivors in the area.
The UNGRD released another tweet with a condolence message for those affected, “The National Government and on behalf of the President @IvanDuque , sends a message of accompaniment and solidarity to the families affected in this emergency in #Risaralda . We will provide support in response and attention issues in the short, medium and long term” Dir @UNGRD”
Five years ago in 2017, Mocoa city in Colombia had a disastrous landslide resulting in 320 deaths. The south-western Cauca province in Colombia was hit with a landslide in 2019 that took the lives of 28 people.
