At least 11 dead after landslide buries homes in northwest Colombia

At least 11 people have been killed in a landslide in northwestern Colombia, local authorities said on Wednesday, a day after heavy rains unleashed the wall of mud and debris on crowded neighborhoods and buried some dozen homes.

Rescue workers continued to dig through the rubble and search for survivors in Colombia’s second-largest city of Medellin and the nearby mountainous town of Bello, where at least 15 people remain missing.

Authorities in Bello swiftly transformed schools and community centers, even a swimming pool, into shelters that quickly filled with over 1,300 people who lost or couldn't access their homes as a result of flooding, said Mayor Lorena González Ospina.

The overall death toll from the landslide increased to 11, said Federico Gutiérrez, mayor of Medellin, as emergency workers in Bello pressed on with search and rescue efforts using dogs, drones and other tools. His office ordered the immediate evacuation of over 60 homes in Medellin that had suffered structural damage.

Landslides are common in this verdant area of Colombia, especially during the rainy season from April to November, when downpours loosen the soil.

Floodwaters from almost two consecutive days of torrential rainfall caused streams to overflow Tuesday morning while most residents were sleeping. The resulting flood surged through the cities, carrying tons of debris and sweeping away cars and other personal belongings.

Colombia’s Weather Service predicted light rains on Wednesday, far less extreme than those that hit the region earlier this week.