Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bogota (Agenzia Fides) - About six thousand people have fled their homes in a village in north-eastern Colombia. The Minister for the Interior said that probably in a few days it “will not exist anymore”, as the village is in the process of disappearing under a mass of earth and mud. The combination of earthquake and landslide caused by heavy rain since Friday, 17 December, has threatened the village of Gramalote, located about 400 kilometers north-east of Bogota.
According to the Coordinator of the Regional Commission for disasters (CREPAD), 2,700 people of the 3,000 who live in the centre of Gramalote, have departed for Cucuta, El Zulia and Santiago. In less than two days more than 400 houses have collapsed and an unknown number have cracks or flaws that render them unusable.
The victim toll from rains afflicting Colombia this year, and which have intensified in recent weeks, has reached 281 dead and 271 wounded, according to a report published by the National Red Cross Relief. The director of this humanitarian agency, Carlos Ivan Marquez, added that for the same reason there are 68 missing and over 2.2 million homeless throughout the Country. In the same report, it says that the increase in the number of homes destroyed is over 3,100.
Gramalote is a town situated on the eastern cordillera of the Andes, in a mountainous area, very rugged and surrounded by mountains that have caused several landslides and devoured almost the whole city. The mayor of the town, Rafael Ángel Celis, requested air support from authorities to evacuate residents. “Right now Gramalote looks like a ghost town, empty streets, houses collapsing on their own, land that opens up and soon the city may disappear completely,” said the mayor. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 20/12/2010)
