An avalanche of mud and debris roared down an alpine town in western Colombia before dawn on Monday, killing at least 49 people in a flood and mudslide triggered by heavy rains.
Residents were stirred from bed in the dead of the night by a loud rumble and neighbours’ shouts of “The river! The river!” as modestly built homes and bridges plunged into the Libordiana ravine. Survivors barely had enough time to gather their loved ones.
“It was rocks and tree trunks everywhere,” Diego Agudelo said, adding that never in 34 years living next to the ravine had he suspected such a tragedy was possible.
“The river took out everything in its path,” the construction worker said, including the back part of his home.
The disaster hit around 3am local time in the town of Salgar, about 100 kilometres southwest of Medellin.
Rescuers supported by police helicopters were evacuating residents near the ravine for fear of another mudslide. President Juan Manuel Santos, who travelled to the town to oversee relief efforts, said several children appear to have lost their parents and the bodies of those killed needed to be transported to Medellin to be identified.
As giant diggers began to remove debris along the he vowed to rebuild the lost homes and provide shelter and assistance for the estimated 500 people affected by the disaster.
“Nobody can bring back the dead … but we have to handle this disaster as best we can to move forward,” Santos said.
Authorities said that 49 people were confirmed dead but that the number was likely to rise. Dozens have suffered light injuries and an unknown number of people are still unaccounted for. The flooding destroyed the town’s aqueduct and even areas in less hazardous zones experienced flooding.