MOCOA (SW): Flooding and mudslides in the Colombian city of Mocoa sent torrents of water and debris crashing onto houses in the early hours of Saturday morning, killing 254 people.
Heavy rains caused several rivers to overflow, pushing sediment and rocks on to buildings and roads in the capital of southwestern Putumayo province and immobilising cars in several feet of mud, the guardian reported. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos flew to Mocoa, population 345,000, to oversee rescue efforts on the city outskirts and speak with affected families. “We will do everything possible to help them,” Santos said after confirming the death toll. “It breaks my heart.”
The army said in a statement that 254 people were killed, 400 people had been injured and 200 were missing. More than 1,100 soldiers and police officers were called in to help dig people out in 17 affected neighborhoods.
Colombia’s deadliest landslide, the 1985 Armero disaster, left more than 20,000 dead. “It’s a big area,” Mocoa mayor José Antonio Castro, who lost his house, told Caracol radio on Saturday. “A big portion of the many houses were just taken by the avalanche.”
More than 1,100 soldiers and police officers have been called in to find and rescue survivors. Hundreds remain unaccounted for.
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