More people have died in landslides caused by heavy rain in the department of Antioquia, Colombia.
The department’s disaster authority, DAGRAN Antioquia, reported that a landslide struck in the village of Cachirime in Puerto Valdivia, Valdivia municipality on 23 November 2020.
Two commercial buildings were buried in the landslide. After search and rescue operations were completed, DAGRAN Antioquia confirmed that 7 people had died and 12 were injured.
The fatalities in Puerto Valdivia bring the total number of rain-related deaths in the department to 17 since the start of the second rainy season in September this year. According to DAGRAN, landslides caused 1 fatality in Yarumal and 5 in Dabeiba, while flash floods caused 1 fatality in Betulia, 1 in Chigorodó and 2 in Mutatá where floods struck on 21 November after the Sucio River overflowed. Three minors were rescued by helicopter.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recently reported that over 260,000 people have been affected by heavy rain, flooding or landslides in Colombia since mid-September and the start of the second rainy season. Rainfall intensified across northern departments of the country from 13 November 2020, in particular affecting the departments of Bolivar, Antioquia, Norte de Santander, Atlántico, Cundinamarca, Sucre, Chocó, Magdalena and La Guajira.
