The incident was triggered by intense rainfall, that caused devastation in Mocoa.
Hundreds of family homes have been destroyed. President Juan Manuel Santos says the death toll from an avalanche of water near Colombia’s border with Ecuador has now reached 154 – and is likely to rise further. And around 220 people remain missing.
Officers carry a body (Picture: AFP/ Ejercito De Colombia)
Hundred of homes have been destroyed (Picture: AFP/ Ejercito De Colombia)
The death toll is expected to rise (Picture: AFP/ Ejercito De Colombia)
The avalanche was triggered by intense rain (Picture: AFP/ Ejercito De Colombia)
The avalanche knocked out power in half of the province of Putumayo, where Mocoa is located also wiped out Mocoa’s fresh water network, for which 20 water tankers are on their way from other cities.
Among the people injured, 22 suffered serious injuries for which they are being airlifted to nearby cities. He blamed climate change for triggering the avalanche, saying that the previous night’s rain was almost half the amount Mocoa normally receives in the entire month of March.
It has knocked out a lot of the power (Picture: AFP/ Ejercito De Colombia)
There are 22 serious injuries (Picture: AFP/ Ejercito De Colombia)
Half of their monthly rain fell in a night (Picture: AFP/ Ejercito De Colombia)
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos comforts a resident (Picture: Cessar Carion/AFP/Getty Images)
An avalanche of water from an overflowing river swept through the city (Picture: Cesar Carrion/Colombian Presidential Press Office via AP)
It is rainy season in much of Colombia just beginning, he said local and national authorities need to redouble their efforts to prevent a similar tragedy.
‘These rains are increasingly more intense, so we have to be ready.’, Santos said.
The president also said that instead of sending supplies, Colombians should send donations so that families displaced by the tragedy can rebuild.
More than 100 people have died (Picture: Cesar Carrion/Colombian Presidential Press Office via AP)
Heavy rains caused several rivers to overflow, pushing sediment and rocks into buildings and roads in Mocoa, Colombia (Picture: Cesar Carrion/Colombian Presidency/Handout via Reuters)
Around 400 are injured (Picture: AFP/ Ejercito De Colombia)
Trees were pushed over (Picture: AFP/ Ejercito De Colombia)
A soldier carries a woman on his back during the evacuation of residents (Picture: EPA/Colombian Army)
The Minister of Interior Juan Manuel Cristo said in the middle of the night ‘families, boys, girls, young people and the elderly’ were killed when three rivers overflowed.
The incident happened at around midnight, as many residents were in their homes sleeping. Witnesses felt buildings vibrate before an avalanche of water carrying mud and debris swept through, toppling homes and lifting trucks downstream.
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