Flood in Colombia

Heavy rain caused three rivers to burst their banks in Colombia on 1 April 2017. The flood waters swept into the city of Mocoa, bringing mud and debris surging through the streets and flattening entire neighbourhoods.

Mocoa is located in southern Colombia, in the Andes Mountains. The mountainous terrain makes landslides a common occurrence in this region, but the damage to Mocoa has been described as the worst the city has experienced on record. Much of the city is covered with mud, rocks and trees drawn along by the flood.

A state of emergency has been declared and search efforts are ongoing to find any survivors buried under the mud and debris. More than 200 people are still missing and over 500 were left homeless, but the Colombian President has announced a commitment to helping all of those affected by the disaster and to rebuild parts of the city which were destroyed.