Colombia landslide leaves over 250 dead, govt devising reconstruction plans

Colombia's government is putting together a reconstruction program encompassing potable water, bridges, energy and housing after a landslide in the southern jungle left at least 254 dead and more than 200 injured.

The country's deadliest natural disaster in more than 30 years occurred March 31-April 1 when three rivers surrounding Mocoa in Putumayo department burst their banks, burying much of the town under tons of mud and rock. The area received nearly double the usual amount of rainfall in March, according to information on the website of the president's office.

Reconstruction plans include a 15bn-peso (US$5.2mn) aqueduct to improve potable water services in the area, repairs of seven bridges and the installation of two substations to replace the area's substation destroyed by the mudslide, Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos said.

An emergency team comprising 1,800 members of the armed forces, the Red Cross, fire services and local government entities have also cleared the Pitalito-Mocoa highway, which had been blocked by the landslide, Santos said. Planes, helicopters and boats have been scrambled to help with evacuation efforts, Santos added.

Drinking water will be distributed by four portable water treatment plants and 26 tanker trucks, while 10 generators are providing electricity, he said.

"The situation is dramatic. It's possible to recover. We're going to bring back hope to Mocoa," Santos said in broadcast comments. "We've immediately declared the process viable to build an aqueduct so that Mocoa has a better potable water supply than before."

The government will also make 18.5mn-peso life insurance payments to families of those who died and a 250,000-peso monthly subsidy for rent until housing reconstruction can get underway, Santos said. Debt restructuring will also be provided for local businesses which have been destroyed, he said.

The Inter-American Development Bank assigned US$200,000 in immediate emergency aid, while China pledged US$1.1mn and the US government provided help with an ongoing search for survivors, according to local broadcaster Radio Caracol.

The El Niño phenomenon – when Pacific Ocean temperatures rise – has sparked torrential rains, flooding and landslides across South America, claiming more than 100 lives and leaving 150,000 homeless in Peru alone, while neighboring Ecuador has reported 16 deaths.

In Colombia, 500 municipalities were put on alert due to the possibility of flooding and landslides, according to the country's hydrology institute Ideam.

The landslide, the second in the Andean country in two years, was the deadliest disaster since the Nevado del Ruíz volcano erupted in 1985, killing 22,000 people in the town of Armero. A landslide left 80 dead near Medellín in May 2015.