Lashing Rains Intensify in Colombia

Torrential rains in Colombia wreaked more havoc around the country this week, including an area outside the capital where an avalanche of mud and debris smothered an entire town, killing at least one person.

Some 80 people have been killed in Colombia this year due to rain and flooding, with most of those deaths during the last couple of weeks. 

Earlier this month, 20 people in a bus were killed when an overflowing river in the lush coffee-growing region swept the vehicle off a steep highway.

A Colombian policeman skirts a flooded street, following heavy rains in Chia, north of Bogotá.

This year's death toll adds to the 300 or so killed during the second half of 2010 when the unusually heavy and persistent rains began, fueled by the "La Niña" weather phenomenon, a South American counterpart to "El Niño."

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said late Monday the lashing rains and its destruction of life and property is "without precedence in the history of Colombia."

The resurgence of the rains also threatens to derail Colombia's economy, which only recently got back on track and is expected to grow between 5% and 6% this year.

Analysts say the recent rains may destroy coffee crops, just as they did last year, and make it difficult for some multinational companies to transport oil and coal to shipping ports for export.

Nearly all of the nation's 32 states, or departments, are under a state of emergency, and around 3 million people have been left homeless since the devastation began last year.

The town of Utica, located a two-hour drive northwest of the capital Bogota, was enveloped in mud Tuesday after an overflowing ravine outside of town gave way, sending mud, water, rocks and trees rushing into the streets just after midnight.

Cundinamarca state Governor Andrés Gonzalez, standing in Utica's muddy streets, told television cameras that 120 homes were completely destroyed by the rush of mud.

"The school in town, which was just inaugurated three weeks ago, was also destroyed," he said.

One person was reported killed in Utica and another is missing, while the town remains without any water or electricity.

The governor said the loss of life would have been much higher had authorities not sounded the alarms around 4 p.m. local time Monday, allowing residents to evacuate with just hours to spare.

"A major tragedy in terms of human life was avoided," Mr. Gonzalez told television cameras. "The destroyed property, this can be rebuilt."

There are also concerns of more problems in northern Colombia along the Magdalena River, where last year a giant break in a levee at Dique Canal caused millions of gallons of water to spill into the plains region, leaving half of the entire state of Atlántico under water.

In late January, the 258-meter-long canal breach was completely sealed in a ceremony in which a government official laid down the final sandbag.

Despite the repairs, drainage remains a problem and many residents in the area are still homeless and without clean drinking water.

The worry is that if the rains continue and Colombia's meteorological institute Ideam says the intense rains could last into June the temporary fix for the large breach might be washed away.

Carlos Rosado, direct of the government roads institute Invias, dismissed that possibility in an interview with RCN Radio Tuesday, saying the repairs already made will withstand anything Mother Nature delivers.

Despite the new round of rains, Finance Minister Juan Carlos Echeverry said over the weekend the government has enough funds to pay for emergency relief and reconstruction, and won't need to resort to a budget amendment.