Rescue teams were searching through the debris in the Colombian town of Mocoa, where hundreds were killed in a landslide and many bodies remain buried under the mud. The president pledged that the town would be rebuilt.
Image: DW/A. Sáez
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The aftermath of Colombia's deadly floods
Survivors of a deadly flood that washed through the city of Mocoa in Colombia are getting ready to bury their loved ones as authorities begin to release the remains recovered from a disaster that has shaken the country.
Image: Reuters/J. Saldarriaga
People of Mocoa are still in shock
Family and friends mourn next to a grave at the cemetery of Mocoa. In the southwestern Colombian town a sudden surge of mud and water swept away homes, bridges, vehicles and trees, leaving piles of wrecked timber buried in thick mud, killing over 270 people.
Image: Reuters/J. Saldarriaga
Colombia is mourning
President Juan Manuel Santos visits the disaster area and comforts residents of Mocoa. He promised earlier on Twitter to "guarantee assistance to the victims of this tragedy, which has Colombians in mourning. Our prayers are with the victims and those affected." The president flew into the disaster zone for three days to oversee the relief effort.
People are just starting to realize what has hit them. The death toll was expected to rise, since many more people are missing and bodies are still being found. At the same time, hopes of finding survivors are fading.
Image: Reuters/J. Saldarriaga
Hopes of finding survivors are slim
The Colombian Red Cross says it has received 374 requests for help from families unable to locate loved ones. According to President Manuel Santos, 90 percent of the dead had now been identified. He said the search would continue.
Image: Reuters/J. Saldarriaga
New coffins for burials
Santos and other officials pledged both emergency relief and that Mocoa would be rebuilt, including a new water system to replace the one damaged in the flood and new homes for those in the 17 neighborhoods hit hardest by the surging water. He said he had spoken by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump, who promised assistance, as
have other nations including China and Venezuela.
Image: Reuters/J. Saldarriaga
Colombia is experienced in dealing with catastrophes
Much of Mocoa is still strewn with rocks, tree limbs, and brown muck. Search and rescue teams continue to probe debris piles when someone hears a possible sound of movement.
Image: DW/A. Sáez
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Authorities declared the state of economic emergency to free up relief funds on Monday, three days after the natural disaster killed at least 273 people in south Colombia. The death toll is expected to rise as some 200 people are still believed to be missing.
About 45,000 people were affected by the landslide in the town of Mocoa, according to the Red Cross. Survivors spoke of climbing on roofs and clinging to trees to avoid being swept away by the muck.
At least 43 victims of the landslide were childrenImage: DW/A. Sáez
Ercy Lopez, 39, was left hanging on a tree after the deluge destroyed her home. Now housed in a survivors' shelter, she said rescuers were still looking for her 22-year old daughter, Diana Vanesa.
"The hopes of finding her alive are slim now," she told the AFP news agency.
'I sneezed out mud'
Another survivor, Carlos Acosta, also said he managed to hold on to a tree branch during the event.
"I was dying due to a lack of air - so what did I do? I stuck my finger in my mouth and vomited a lot of mud," the 25-year-old said. "I sneezed out mud until I could breathe again."
While hundreds of rescuers were using heavy machinery to look for survivors, some of the families had already started burying the first identified victims. The government has pledged to cover hospital and funeral costs.
Fighting diseases
Officials also declared a public health and safety emergency and started vaccination to prevent the spread of diseases. Colombian President Manuel Santos said four emergency water treatment plants would be set up for residents of Mocoa.
Families of the dead are set to receive about $6,400 (around 6,000 euro) in aid.
Colombia: Relatives search for missing
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The scope of the tragedy came as a surprise even in Colombia, a country repeatedly hit by natural disasters due to heavy rains and a mountainous landscape. President Juan Manuel Santos, who is personally coordinating the response at the scene, blamed climate change for the disaster and promised that Mocoa would be rebuilt. The Amazonian town had received around 10 days' worth of rain in in just one night, causing the rivers to overflow, he said.
Mocoa has "about 10 rivers running through it," said the mayor Jose Antonio Castro, as quoted by newspaper El Espectador.
"That means it is not a place where a town should be located."
