News / Colombia

11 dead, 20 missing in Colombia floods: Red Cross

Wednesday, 19 April 2017 5:28 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 19 April 2017 5:41 PM ]

The photo shows a general view after mudslides in Manizales, Caldas department, Colombia, on April 19, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Flooding and mudslides in central Colombia have killed at least 11 people, the Red Cross said Wednesday, causing alarm in a country still recovering from recent mudslides that killed hundreds.

At least 20 people are missing after torrential rains lashed the city of Manizales, officials said, raising fears the death toll could soar as it did earlier this month in the southern city of Mocoa.

There, at least 323 people including more than 100 children were killed when heavy rain caused three mountain rivers to flood on March 31, hurling a tidal wave of mud and boulders into the city.

Manizales "is literally cut off by rock slides, mudslides, floods," Mayor Jose Octavio Cardona told local radio stations.

He said the city had been on alert after days of heavy rain, which turned to a torrential downpour overnight.

Flooding and mudslides in Manizales, Caldas department, Colombia, have killed at least eleven people on April 19, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

President Juan Manuel Santos suspended his official agenda to travel to the city, the capital of Caldas department -- which is, like Mocoa, a remote and difficult region to access.

He said on Twitter he had ordered officials from the emergency agency and transport ministries to the city to assess the "grave situation."

Emergency officials said eight neighborhoods had been hit by flooding or mudslides, including one where several homes were buried.

(Source: AFP)

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