Colombia declares a natural disaster after landslides that left 33 dead in Chocó

The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, declared this Sunday natural disaster due to the landslides that occurred on Friday on a road near the town of El Carmen de Atrato, in the department of Chocó (west), which have left at least 33 dead and 10 people missing.

“It is going to be declared a (natural) disaster.” “This disaster decree has a concrete effect and that is that we can transfer resources from some budget items to others,” Petro explained in the area of ​​the collapse, where he went today before traveling to Guatemala to attend the inauguration of Bernardo Arévalo, to which he will probably arrive at the end to greet the new president.

The collapse occurred on Friday afternoon and buried several vehicles that were stopped, apparently due to an avalanche that previously blocked the highway between Medellín and Quibdó, the capital of Chocó, and a house where fifty people were sheltering from the rain. people.

“The concentration of people in the house has so far caused 33 victims to be found,” recalled the president, who pointed out that of those there are ten people who have not been identified and that there are also “ten people not found” under the collapse.

Finish the road

Petro flew over the area on Sunday morning and gave brief statements where he assured that he will transfer 500,000 million pesos (almost US$ 128 million) from the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI) to the entity that is in charge of the roads. the National Highway Institute (Invías).

This will serve to “that not only the end of the work can be undertaken but also what was not done at the beginning of the work, which is a job of securing slopes that allows the safety of the road,” He specified, emphasizing the neglect that has occurred with this highway, which connects Medellín with Quibdó, the capital of Chocó, and is one of the two main ones that allow access to the Pacific.

However, the highway is still to be finished and there have been numerous delays that have occurred in recent years to finish it because Chocó is the poorest department in the country and the priorities have never been investing in this area, as highlighted the mandatary.

Meanwhile, rescue efforts continue, while new landslides could occur, according to Petro, if new rains fall, which is why the governor of Chocó, Nubia Carolina Córdoba, asked that people avoid driving in that area.

The emergency has so far left 20 injured, of which the majority are being treated at the Carmen del Atrato hospital, the closest to the area.