2010-07-16 11:17

BOGOTA - The current rain season in Colombia has so far claimed at least 50 lives and injured 119, the Interior and Justice Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

Torrential rain, massive flooding and ensuing landslides have affected some 258,000 people in more than 250 hardest-hit municipalities, the statement said. At least eight people remain missing.

Floods have swallowed some 357 houses and damaged 43,000 more, the statement added.

In response to the emergencies, the Colombian government have allocated 5.305 billion Colombian pesos ($7.8 million) to purchase mattresses, food, medicines, building materials and barricades.

The natural phenomenon known as "La Nina", which is associated with cooler than normal water temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean, increased the rainfall in the country which is likely to continue into November.