207 Confirmed Dead In Mocoa, Colombia; In 1 Night, Half Of March Avg Rainfall
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos says that at least 207 people have been killed in a water and mud avalanche in the country's south, but the death toll is changing "every moment." Santos spoke Sunday in his latest update on the tragedy.
Authorities say another 200 people including many children were injured and just as many remain unaccounted for amid the destruction in the city of Mocoa. Heavy rains sent floodwaters, mud and debris surging through homes in the city around midnight Friday. That left the streets covered Saturday morning in thick sand, mud and tree limbs from the rivers and forest that surround the community.
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Santos blamed climate change for triggering the avalanche, saying that the accumulated rainfall in one night was almost half the amount Mocoa normally receives in the entire month of March. With the rainy season in much of Colombia just beginning, he said local and national authorities need to redouble their efforts to prevent a similar tragedy.
The crisis is likely to be remembered as one of the worst natural disasters in recent Colombian history, though the Andean nation has experienced even more destructive environmental catastrophes. Nearly 25,000 people were killed in 1985 after the Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupted and triggered a deluge of mud and debris that buried the town of Armero.
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