Death toll from rain-fuelled landslide in Colombia rises to 11 | Climate News

Authorities say that rescue workers continue to search for the missing and assist residents in town outside of Medellin.

At least 11 people have been killed and 15 remain missing after a landslide in the city of Bello in Colombia’s northwest, according to authorities.

Evacuation orders and rescue efforts continue a day after the landslide, with government officials warning that heavy rains pose an ongoing threat to the area around Medellin, Colombia’s second-largest city.

“We continue to support emergency and rescue work in Bello, where 11 people have sadly been reported killed, at least 15 are missing, and more than 1,500 people are in shelters,” Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez said in a social media post on Wednesday.

Floodwaters overwhelmed local waterways on Tuesday during the early morning hours while residents were asleep.

A wave of mud surged through Bello, a crowded community in the hills above Medellin, burying about a dozen homes, sweeping away cars and leaving behind piles of debris.

Rescue workers have used dogs, drones and other means to search for the missing. Shelters have been set up in local schools and community centres.

Heavy rains pose especially high risks for makeshift homes built into the hillsides, which can become unstable during periods of sustained rainfall. It is often the country’s poorer residents who live in these danger zones, many of them having fled conflict in Colombia’s rural areas for the relative safety of a city.

The Medellin town hall also issued evacuation orders for Villatina, also on the outskirts of Medellin, on Tuesday, stating that 23 buildings would be demolished due to the risk of possible collapse. The town hall says that the order was based on previous landslides during late May, and that the risk posed by the insecure structures has been aggravated by recent heavy rain.

Around 60 homes were also ordered evacuated in Medellin, which suffered damage during recent storms.