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Colombia, Venezuela floods death toll exceeds 80
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-02-15 09:39
The death toll from flooding in Colombia and Venezuela grew to more than 80
on Monday as rescue workers found more corpses, the two countries' governments
said.
Residents of Puerto
Santander, Colombia, stand alongside a bridge on La Grita River on the
Colombian/Venezuelan border that was destroyed yesterday due to flooding,
Monday, Feb. 14, 2005. [AP] | Most of the dead had
drowned in shanty towns built near rivers swollen with mountain runoff after
nonstop rain, mainly in the Colombian provinces of Santander and Norte de
Santander and in Venezuela's state of Merida. Many victims were children.
"This has been very unusual. It doesn't rain like this normally at this time
of year," said the head of the Colombian government's emergency office, Eduardo
Jose Gonzalez.
The death toll rose to 33 in Colombia and past 50 in Venezuela, where flooded
rivers were hampering rescue efforts and attempts to recover bodies. A total of
about 64 had been reported dead in the neighboring countries on Sunday.
Floodwaters forced 40,000 Colombians to flee and destroyed 5,000 homes, and
the government said it would send emergency funds to help rebuild homes for
those displaced.
Authorities were clearing scores of landslides and blocked roads around Santa
Cruz de Mora in Venezuela and remote villages left without water, food or
electricity.
Tropical wet-season landslides and floods kill shanty town inhabitants every
year in Colombia and Venezuela, where authorities often fail to prevent
construction on vulnerable territory.
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