State of emergency in Colombia after mudslides claim 273 lives

The Colombian government on Monday declared a state of economic emergency in the town of Mocoa in southern Colombia, after mudslides left more than 270 people dead, including 43 children.

“We have the toll of the people who have unfortunately died,” said President Juan Manuel Santos, as he revisited the scene of Friday’s disaster.

“The latest is 273 people died and 262 are injured,” he said. Earlier he said that at least 43 children were among the dead.

Santos was to spend the night at a nearby military base and will continue coordinating the emergency response.

The president said reconstruction would begin, dismissing risks of further mudslides, but he warned that the country faces rainy weather until June.

Santos has flown into the disaster zone for three straight days to oversee the relief effort. He declared an economic emergency Monday to free up relief funds, amplifying the public health and safety emergency he had already declared.

The mudslides occurred Friday after heavy rains caused three rivers to overflow, spewing earth, rocks and tree debris over the area.

Most of the hardest-hit neighborhoods are poor and populated with people uprooted during Colombia’s five- decadelong civil war.

Mocoa was home to 70,000 people, according to Sorrel Aroca, the governor of Putumayo department. The Red Cross estimated about 45,000 people in Mocoa were affected by the mudslides.

Hopes of finding survivors were fading Monday as some 200 people remained missing.

Rescuers clawed through mud and timber as relatives desperately sought loved ones.

Survivors told of scrambling onto roofs or hanging onto trees as a sea of mud, boulders and debris engulfed Mocoa late Friday.

Some watched as their children and relatives were swept away.

Among them was Ercy Lopez, 39, who was left hanging on a tree after the deluge tore away her home.

Lying on a mattress in a shelter for survivors, she said people were still searching for her 22-year- old daughter Diana Vanesa.

“The hopes of finding her alive are slim now,” she said.

Debris was everywhere in the remote Amazon town: buried cars, uprooted trees, children’s toys and odd shoes sticking up out of the mud.

Survivors gathered at the local hospital and at the cemetery to search for family members and friends.

Yulieth Rosero had just buried her sister, but was holding out hope of finding her seven-year- old nephew, Juan David Rueda.

“I found his little brother, William. He’s alive. He’s in shock, injured and has no clothes, but he’s OK,” said Rosero, 23.

Hundreds of rescuers were working at the scene of the disaster, using mechanical diggers in the search.

Locals said it was never safe to live so close to the three rivers that overflowed after days of torrential rain. — AFP

The Thai cabinet yesterday approved the purchase of 10 Chinese tanks worth US$ 58 million to replace an old US model, a government spokesman said, the second of three planned purchases of 49 tanks from China.

Thailand ordered 28 tanks from China last year.

“These tanks will replace the M41 tanks, which are small and old,” Sansern Kaewkamnerd told reporters.

Thailand has used the US M41 light tanks since World War II, said Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan.

Relations have been strengthening between China and the United States’ oldest ally in Southeast Asia, particularly since ties with the United States cooled after a 2014 coup.

In January, the cabinet also approved 13.5 billion baht ( US$ 380 million) to buy a submarine from China and is considering buying three more.

Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has boasted of his new friendship with China as he has talked down the relationship with the United States, despite a longstanding territorial dispute with Beijing. — Reuters