At least two dead from landslides in northwestern Colombia

Almost a hundred Colombian municipalities are on red alert due to the rains

MADRID, 22 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) -

At least two people have died from landslides as a result of heavy rains that have been falling in recent hours in the department of Antioquia, in northwestern Colombia.

The victims are two minors. One ten years old and one fifteen. The first has died after a landslide fell on his house, where five other people were, in the village of El Llano, in the municipality of Yarumal.

On the other hand, in the municipality of Betulia, a fifteen-year-old adolescent was surprised by a landslide while driving a motorcycle. The mayor of the town, Juan Manuel Lema, has reported that the other person who was traveling with the victim has been "unharmed", reports the RCN station.

The heavy rains that have been falling in recent days in Colombia have caused 99 municipalities to declare a red alert, 70 of them due to the risk of flooding and another 29 due to landslides.

The Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo, has detailed that Antioquia, with 17 municipalities on red alert, is the most affected department, followed by Casanare and Meta, with fifteen; and Bolívar with eleven.

"In recent years there has been a considerable increase in natural disasters in the country. In 2021 there were 802 floods, compared to the 428 that occurred in 2020, which constitutes an increase of 87 percent," Camargo said. .

"When communities suffer from a flood or a landslide, not only is their right to enjoyment or a healthy environment affected, but it also affects health, work, decent housing, food security, access to water, even life itself," he warned.