landslide

[aris2chat]

surprised that there is no post about the land slide in northern afghanistan.

350 dead and some 4000 missing.

landslide was due to rain. There was a wedding taking place in the area.

rescue workers are having trouble getting into the area and there is not enough heavy equiptment to move the 100 feet of earth and rock of the landslide.

 

[longknife]

This is a picture of it.

 

[waltky]

Is tough place to get to and soldiers needed to guard the rescue workers...

Aid, rescue efforts mounted after deadly landslide in northern Afghanistan
Saturday, May 3,`14 — Aid groups rushed assistance to Afghanistan’s northern province of Badakhshan on Saturday, a day after a landslide buried scores of homes under more than 30 feet of mud.

The landslide struck midday Friday about 50 miles from Afghanistan’s northeastern border with Tajikistan, and officials said at least 350 people were killed instantly. But more than 24 hours later, there were conflicting reports about how many other people might still be buried under debris. A spokesman for the provincial governor told several media outlets Saturday that 2,100 people were missing and presumed dead. Other provincial leaders stressed the likelihood that the figure was too high but said precise tallies of dead and missing may not be known for weeks, if ever. With officials worried about new landslides in the area, villagers frantically dug for survivors Saturday. A battalion of Afghan National Army soldiers arrived on the scene, but a senior military commander said there was little hope of finding anyone alive. “Because of the thickness of the mud, there was nothing we could do,” said Gen. Zahir Azimi, an army spokesman. The landslide is the latest in a string of deadly disasters in Afghanistan, a country already struggling with terrorism, poverty and an uncertain future as the NATO-led coalition withdraws most of its remaining forces this year.

Over the past 10 days, Afghanistan has endured severe flash flooding, an earthquake and a coal-mine explosion that killed 20 miners. Friday’s landslide threatens to become one of the country’s deadliest natural disasters in at least a decade. The mudslide followed several days of heavy rain in Badakhshan’s Argo district, a remote area that includes the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountain ranges. Many of the houses are made of mud, stone and straw, and the landslide struck without warning, officials said, instantly encasing about 350 homes. As rescuers from neighboring villages arrived, a second slide occurred, killing nearly all of the first responders, said Mohammed Zekaria, a legislator from the area. On Saturday, assistance teams from the United Nations and the Afghan Red Crescent Society were working to set up emergency shelters and distribute food, water and medical supplies to more than 4,000 displaced residents. But the area is largely inaccessible by vehicle, which was complicating rescue and aid efforts.

Late Friday, provincial officials pleaded for heavy equipment, noting that villagers had little to use but their hands to dig for survivors. Ari Gaitanis, a spokesman for the United Nations Mission Afghanistan, said that request would be difficult to fulfill. “It’s not your typical easy place to get to,” Gaitanis said. “Especially with heavy machinery.” Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he had ordered “relevant entities to provide immediate assistance to people affected by this natural disaster” and to “urgently rescue those who are trapped.” “The president offers his heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the families of the victims and prays for patience of the bereaved and rapid recovery of the wounded,” the statement said. President Obama said Friday that the U.S. government stood ready to provide assistance. But a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan said Saturday that the U.S. military was still on “standby” because the Afghan army had not requested additional resources. “If they request support, we will provide support,” said Capt. Keith Robinson, a spokesman for the international coalition’s northern regional command.

Even if the U.S. military is called on, there may be limits to what it could do because American troops have been steadily reducing their footprint in Afghanistan. As the number of coalition bases dwindles, the range of military medevac helicopters is increasingly limited. U.S. soldiers generally do not operate without the availability of medical air support. Last week, for example, the coalition supplied bottled water for delivery to flood-ravaged parts of northern Afghanistan. But Afghan troops, not coalition soldiers, were used to transport the water directly to victims in remote areas, Robinson said. The flash flooding followed several days of heavy rain in nine northern and western provinces. About 100 people were killed and more than 2,000 families were displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration. The flooding coincided with a magnitude-5.7 earthquake that flattened hundreds of homes and killed at least 20 people in the eastern provinces of Nangahar and Konar. The coal-mine explosion occurred Wednesday in northern Samangan province. “These disasters have hit every corner of our country,” said Sharifi Balkhabi, a legislator from Sar-e Pol province, where 30 people were killed in last week’s flooding. He said the worry now is that disease will spread because of the lack of clean drinking water.

Aid, rescue efforts mounted after deadly landslide in northern Afghanistan - The Washington Post

 

[waltky]

Afghanistan throwin' in the towel on mudslide...

‘No Hope’ for Those Buried by Mudslide, Afghanistan Official Says
MAY 3, 2014 — A day after landslides buried much of a village in northeastern Afghanistan, local officials said they feared that more than 2,000 people were dead, entombed in a blanket of earth nearly 30 feet deep.

Officials are expected to designate the site, in the remote village of Abi Barak in Badakhshan Province, a mass grave. “There is no hope for those buried under the mud to be rescued,” said Mohammad Zikeria Sawda, a member of Parliament from Badakhshan, who visited the area on Saturday. President Hamid Karzai declared Sunday a national day of mourning and ordered all flags flown at half-staff. He also asked that Afghans and aid groups come to the assistance of those affected by the landslides, calling the episode a “human tragedy.”

On Friday, the United Nations said that the death toll was at least 350. But a day after the initial landslides the exact number of dead remained unknown. Whole portions of Abi Barak have been buried by landslides, freezing entire families in place beneath the earth and debris and thwarting efforts to claw people out. It appeared that almost half of the mountain had simply fallen on top of Abi Barak. “It is very difficult for rescue teams to operate and take out the bodies from the mud,” said Gul Ahmad Bedar, the deputy governor of Badakhshan. “Even the advance machinery cannot operate usefully in taking out the bodies from some of the areas.” The possibility that yet another chunk of earth might cleave from the nearby mountain kept rescue workers on high alert.

The fear was not idle. Among the houses buried beneath the mud on Friday was one where a young couple had just been married, local officials told television news stations. When neighbors rushed to help, a second landslide trapped them as well. “It buried so many families, including the house where the wedding party was going on,” said Hajji Sayedi, the district governor of Argo, where the village is. “When others rushed to rescue those trapped under the mud, another landslide went through the village, burying all those who came to help.” Thousands of area residents have been evacuated from their homes. Aid agencies were mobilizing assistance on Saturday, with United Nations staff members coordinating the distribution of food, water and blankets and arranging for emergency shelter.

Officials said that about 500 villagers from the surrounding area were handed shovels and pickaxes to work alongside soldiers and others to unearth the bodies. A shipment of 60 tons of food arrived Saturday from neighboring Kunduz Province. A delegation of Afghan officials also flew to the affected region on Saturday. Along with tents, the delegation delivered blankets and cash — up to $1,000 for each dead family member, officials said. Afghanistan’s second vice president, Karim Khalili, expressed deep condolences at the site of the disaster and promised that the government would continue to do all it could to assist the survivors. He said 230 tons of wheat and flour had been delivered by the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development.

The commander of the International Security Assistance Force, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., offered his condolences on behalf of the international coalition and said his troops were ready to offer assistance if requested by Afghan authorities. Mr. Bedar, the deputy governor, said: “We have been only able to discover 15 dead bodies — most of them women and children. We have one or two survivors from each family, mostly the elders who could flee when the mudslide happened.” Different organizations have been trying to compile a list of the missing, with some estimates as high as 2,700. But with the village buried under as much as 200 feet of mud at the deepest points, it may be impossible to ever recover many bodies. “We will offer the funeral prayers for those buried in the mud in absentia,” said the Badakhshan Province governor, Shah Waliullah Adeeb. “There is nothing else we can do.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/04/w...egins-at-scene-of-afghan-landslides.html?_r=0

 

[waltky]

Big ol' landslide in Colombia...

Colombian landslide victims' desperate calls for help
Sat, 01 Apr 2017 - Colombians made desperate calls from rooftops as landslides moved in to wreck their sleeping town.

"We are begging for help, the river has got us, help us please." This was the desperate message in just one of the many phone calls made to emergency services in the Colombian province of Putumayo on Sunday night as landslides rushed into neighbourhoods and began to sweep homes away. Another resident made a call from the roof of her home as the water levels rose around her. Barely able to catch her breath, she cried: "Please help us, the water has entered my house. It's taken all the gear, the car. Please help us." She called on "the emergency services, the mayor, everyone" to help her neighbourhood of La Esmeralda, in the provincial capital, Mocoa. Pleas were also made for helicopters to be sent.

The Colombian Army was deployed to help victims escape​

Mocoa, a town of around 40,000 inhabitants in the country's south-west, has been devastated by floods and mudslides that came without warning. They were sparked by a night of extremely heavy rain, which raised the water levels of the Mocoa River and three tributaries. Many residents were asleep in their beds when the disaster struck, leaving them little or no time to get to safety. Don Evaristo Garces, a local that managed to get away, told the Semana news site that he and his family escaped because they live on a hill, away from the water's reach. He said the next morning they went out to look for their friends, and were greeted by a "stampede" of residents running towards the mountain.

Soldiers have had to dig people out from the mud and debris​

Another resident of Mocoa, Orlando Davila, told Semana he saw parents crying because they could not find their children, and feared they had been swept away by the currents. Rescue services have been working to reach the injured and remove mountains of debris, but bad weather has hampered their efforts. Fallen bridges and flooded roads have also slowed them down. Many residents are still missing. "There are lots of people in the streets, lots of people displaced, and many houses have collapsed," retired Mocoa resident Hernando Rodriguez told AFP news agency. "People do not know what to do," he said. "We are just scarcely realising what has happened to us."

Colombian landslide victims' desperate calls for help - BBC News

See also:

Colombia landslides: More than 100 die as Putumayo suffers heavy rain
Sat, 01 Apr 2017 - Dozens are injured and many missing in Putumayo province as heavy rain causes mudslides.

Landslides have killed at least 154 people in south-west Colombia and left many more injured, says President Juan Manuel Santos. Hours of heavy rains overnight caused rivers to burst their banks, flooding homes with mud in Putumayo province. An unknown number of people are missing. One army officer said the main local hospital was struggling to cope. Mr Santos, who has travelled to the area, said troops had been deployed as part of a national emergency response. He declared a state of emergency in the region. The national fire service said at least 190 people had been injured.

The landslide destroyed homes and buried cars​

The region's governor, Sorrel Aroca, told Colombian media that whole neighbourhoods had been buried. Rescue services said their efforts had been hampered by continuing bad weather and damaged infrastructure. "There are mobility issues on almost 80% of the roads, and from where the road ends, it is three hours to where the landslide took place," said one police officer. Bridges have also been swept away. Jose Antonio Castro, mayor of the provincial capital Mocoa, told Caracol radio that the town was "totally isolated", without electricity and water.

On arriving at the scene, President Santos told reporters, "My heart and the hearts of all Colombians are with the victims of this tragedy." An alarm had sounded as the river's levels rose, leading many people to leave their homes for shelter, and avoiding wider loss of life, Colombia's El Tiempo newspaper said. The mudslides were caused by the rise of the Mocoa river and three tributaries, a representative of the National Disaster Risk Management Unit told AFP news agency.

Aerial images show how the mud engulfed residential areas​

Rescue services said 17 neighbourhoods had been affected and Mr Castro said his own house had also been destroyed. "The mud is up to the roof," he told Caracol radio. The region, bordering Ecuador and Peru, is heavily dependent on agriculture and the petroleum industry. While landslides and heavy rains are common in the mountainous area, March was Colombia's rainiest month since 2011, according to the state meteorological agency. In neighbouring Peru, more than 90 people have died since the start of the year because of unusually heavy rainfall, which also caused landslides and flash floods.

Colombia landslides: Over 200 die in Putumayo floods - BBC News

 

[waltky]

Death and destruction in wake of Colombia landslide...

Colombia landslide: Rescue teams race to reach survivors
Sun, 02 Apr 2017 - Rescuers dig through debris hunting for survivors after mudslides left more than 200 people dead.

Rescuers are digging through mud and debris in the hunt for those missing after devastating mudslides in Colombia left more than 200 dead. More than 1,000 soldiers and police are involved in the relief effort in Putumayo province. Heavy rain flooded the town of Mocoa in the country's south-west, with mud and rocks burying whole neighbourhoods and forcing residents to flee their homes. President Juan Manuel Santos said that 44 of the identified dead are children. "Until we have the last person identified we are not going to stop," said President Santos, who flew to the area on Saturday after the landslide struck. There were at least 400 people injured and 200 missing, the army said.

Lorries and trucks were thrown into the side of buildings by the force of the water​

Video footage from Mocoa showed residents crying over a list of missing children, with their names and aged pinned to a board. "We have lost a baby, who has gone missing," one resident told reporters. "A little baby, we can't find him anywhere." The exact death toll is hard to confirm with the rescue operation still under way. Some local media estimate up to 300 people have been killed, while the Colombian Red Cross has a total hovering above 200. The Red Cross said it was working to help family members contact each other, and the Colombian Air Force has brought supplies. The landslide struck in the early hours of Saturday morning, when many people were asleep in bed.

Soldiers have been deployed to help local families​

Colombia's director of the National Disaster Risk Management Unit told the AFP news agency that a third of the region's expected monthly rain fell during one night. Although rainfall is abundant in the area, this downpour was unusually heavy and caused rivers to burst their banks. The overflow then picked up mud and debris, creating a cascade. Video footage of the aftermath showed currents so strong that abandoned lorries were propelled through the flooded streets. A senior UN official in Colombia, Martin Santiago, blamed climate change, saying it had caused "tremendous results in terms of intensity, frequency and magnitude of these natural effects" in the region.

Rescue workers searched among the rubble and fallen trees​

Others said deforestation has also played a role. "When the basins are deforested, they break down. It is as if we remove the protection for avoiding landslides," said Adriana Soto, a Colombian conservationist and former environment minister. With no running water in Mocoa, one resident told El Tiempo newspaper that they had been collecting rainwater. Power lines are also out across the area. Photos posted to social media by the air force showed some patients being evacuated by air. Local resident Mario Usale, 42, told Reuters he was searching for his father-in-law. "My mother-in-law was also missing, but we found her alive 2km (1.25 miles) away. She has head injuries, but she was conscious," he said.

The debris totally destroyed many homes and submerged vehicles​

Landslides have struck the region several times in recent months. In November, nine people died in the town of El Tambo, about 140km (90 miles) from Mocoa, during a landslide that followed heavy rain. Less than a month before that, another landslide killed several people near Medellin, almost 500km (300 miles) to the north. And in neighbouring Peru, more than 90 people have died since the start of the year because of unusually heavy rainfall, which also caused landslides and flash floods.

Colombia landslide: Rescue teams race to reach survivors - BBC News

See also:

The Latest: Death toll rises to 207 in Colombia avalanche
Apr 2,`17 -- The Latest on the deadly river overflow in southern Colombia (all times local):

12:15 p.m.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos says that at least 207 people have been killed in a water and mud avalanche in the country's south, but the death toll is changing "every moment." Santos spoke Sunday in his latest update on the tragedy. Authorities say another 200 people including many children were injured and just as many remain unaccounted for amid the destruction in the city of Mocoa. Heavy rains sent floodwaters, mud and debris surging through homes in the city around midnight Friday. That left the streets covered Saturday morning in thick sand, mud and tree limbs from the rivers and forest that surround the community. People are digging through the ruins, salvaging what they can of their possessions and looking for their missing loved ones.

9:40 a.m.

Colombia's Attorney General Nestor Humberto Martinez says his office has launched an investigation to ensure local and national authorities fulfilled their responsibility in taking the necessary corrective and preventative actions in the community affected by a deadly avalanche of water and mud. Martinez says in a statement Sunday that his office has dispatched 45 criminal investigators to the community of Mocoa to help in the identification of victims. The Institute of Legal Medicine also is sending 15 pathologists to the scene to help with identifying the dead and perform autopsies.

9 a.m.

A grim search for the missing has resumed in in southern Colombia after surging rivers sent an avalanche of floodwaters, mud and debris through a small city, killing at least 200 people and leaving many more injured and homeless. People in Mocoa have been prying through piles of rocks and wooden planks that entombed homes. Streets were covered in thick sand, mud and tree limbs from the rivers and rainforest that surround the city. There is little drinking water and no power, which forced authorities to suspend the search and rescue effort during the night. The National Disaster Agency said Sunday that the death toll was at 200, with another 200 injured, but authorities concede it could easily go higher because many people are still unaccounted for.

News from The Associated Press

 

[waltky]

FARC offers to help with mudslide tragedy...

Colombian mudslide death toll rises to 254
April 3, 2017 -- At least 254 people died and 400 more were injured in mudslides over the weekend in Colombia, the military said Sunday.

While the whereabouts of many people remain unknown, rescue workers were searching for survivors and transporting them to safety, The New York Times reported.

Inhabitants clear the wreckage left by a mudslide in Mocoa, Colombia, on Sunday. Rescuers were stepping up efforts to find survivors of the mudslides that killed at least 234 people and injured 202 others in Mocoa, the capital of the southern Colombian province of Putumayo, officials said.[-/center[

"The first thing I want to say is that my heart, our hearts, the hearts of all Colombians are with the victims of this tragedy," Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said as he declared a state of emergency Saturday. "We don't know yet where they are. Many people are coming to us saying, 'My son is missing, my father is missing, my mother is missing.' We are working on putting a list for the total number of people missing."

The mudslides happened with heavy rains caused three rivers around Mocoa, in Putumayo province, swelled and flooded the town with mud, CNN reported. Initial media reports said scores of villagers had been killed after water, mud and debris flooded the city, destroying homes, businesses and the local hospital.

Colombian mudslide death toll rises to 254​

See also:

Colombia's FARC rebels offer to help town destroyed by mudslide
April 3, 2017 -- Colombia's FARC rebel group has offered to provide assistance to the devastated town of Mocoa following mudslides but such help requires government approval.

"Amid the tragedy in Mocoa, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia sympathizes and accompanies -- count on us. We are ready to help," the FARC group said in a statement. The FARC rebels are undergoing a transition period established under a peace agreement with the Colombian government to disarm and bring an end to the decades-long conflict between the government and the rebels. At least 254 people died and more than 200 were injured in Mocoa while dozens more residents were missing after the mudslides over the weekend that occurred when heavy rains caused three rivers to swell and flood the capital of the Putumayo department.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos declared a state of emergency to offer assistance as quickly as possible. He vowed that the town will recover and that authorities will accelerate the construction of a new hospital in Mocoa, adding that people in the town would have better access to healthcare than before. "Today we began planning for what will be the reconstruction of Mocoa. We are going to recover and improve the affected homes," Santos said in a statement. "Colombians, I urge that with generosity we lend a hand to our compatriots in the midst of pain and difficulty."

Inhabitants of the San Miguel neighborhood take a break on Sunday amid the debris and rocks left by a mudslide in Mocoa, Colombia, on Saturday. Search and rescue officials continue efforts on Monday to find survivors​

Santos said he allocated more than $400,000 in support of the reconstruction and improvement of companies and business to restore economic activity in Mocoa. He said authorities are prioritizing construction of an aqueduct to provide the city with potable water. Officials have set up four temporary water treatment centers. Colombian authorities set up triage centers to treat those injured. More than half of Colombia's Putumayo department was left without electricity following the recent severe weather, though officials said they are working to restore power.

During a speech on Sunday, Santos said each family who lost a home would receive a monthly rent subsidy of $87. He said he ultimately wants to construct new homes in Mocoa that are less vulnerable to weather-related incidents. It is not clear if Santos would grant FARC's request to help rescue efforts in the afflicted town. More than 220,000 people have died and 5 million have been internally displaced due to the Colombian conflict since the FARC's Marxist-inspired founding in 1964. The militant rebel group has been involved in drug-trafficking, kidnapping and other illicit activity to fund its insurgency.

Colombia's FARC rebels offer to help town destroyed by mudslide

 

[waltky]

A muddy nightmare...

Flood-stricken city in Colombia mourns as death toll climbs
Apr 4,`17 -- Lines of people quietly walked the streets of Mocoa, followed by hearses carrying coffins to a cemetery where open graves waited.

The survivors of the deadly flood that washed through this city in southern Colombia were burying their loved ones Monday after authorities began to release the remains recovered from a disaster that has shaken the country. Colombian authorities said at least 273 people were killed when rivers surrounding Mocoa overflowed and sent a wall of water and debris surging through the city over the weekend. The death toll was expected to rise since many more were missing and bodies are still being found.

Danilo Garzon Garcia, a 22-year-old resident of the city, had spent the previous day searching with other family members for his young sister. They finally found her body at the local hospital, able to recognize her battered remains because of her underwear. "It is better this way, better to know," Garzon said as he walked alongside the car carrying her body to the cemetery. "At least we know where she is." The Colombian Red Cross said it has received 374 requests for help from families unable to locate loved ones, people whose whereabouts were still unknown three days after the disaster. Much of Mocoa was still strewn with rocks, tree limbs, and brown muck. Search and rescue teams continued to probe piles of debris whenever someone heard a possible sound of movement.

Men carry the coffin of a relative during a mass funeral in Mocoa, Colombia, Monday, April 3, 2017. The grim search continues for the missing in southern Colombia after surging rivers sent an avalanche of floodwaters, mud and debris through the small city, killing more than 260 people and leaving many more injured and homeless​

Many in this city of around 40,000 people still seemed in shock from the flood, which poured through the town after a punishing rainfall as people slept late Friday night and early Saturday. "We do not like to create false expectations but where there is a possibility of life we will do everything possible," said Carlos Ivan Marquez, director of Colombia's National Unit of Disaster and Risk Management. Many victims were young like Garzon's 14-year-old sister. "She had gone to sleep at a friend's house. When we got to where the house was we didn't find anyone," he said. As he walked calmly in the funeral procession, his mother sobbed and screamed in grief: "Leidy! What did you leave me? Leidy, my girl." Her son then put his arm around her as they made their way to the cemetery.

President Juan Manuel Santos and other officials pledged emergency relief and said that Mocoa would be rebuilt, including a new water system to replace the one damaged in the flood and new homes for those in the 17 neighborhoods hit hardest by the surging water. He said he had spoken by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump, who promised assistance, as have other nations including China and Venezuela. Santos also declared an "economic, social and ecological emergency," a designation intended to speed reconstruction efforts. "We are not going to stop until everyone affected by this natural disaster receives help," Marquez said.

News from The Associated Press

See also:

Colombia landslide: A vision of life in mud-covered Mocoa
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 - The BBC's Laura Bicker is in Mocoa, sharing images of the immediate landslide recovery efforts.

Hundreds of people are confirmed to have lost their lives in Saturday's landslide in Colombia. Forty thousand people live in the south-western town of Mocoa that was hit by a torrent of mud and debris. The search for survivors continues, but hopes are fading fast for those still waiting on news about loved ones. The BBC's Laura Bicker has been reporting from the region - sharing images of those affected by the tragedy. The town was devastated by mudslides as water tore through its centre after a night of extremely heavy rain. Neighbourhoods were swept away amongst the rising water levels.

Cars piled up, surround by debris, caused by the mudslide.​

Our correspondent says in a Twitter post: "Mud lies thick on the streets of Mocoa. They're still searching for the missing but with little hope." "Five main rivers flow off these mountains - the rain came with mud and debris tearing through." She described how during a live report for the BBC News at Ten, a small boy tugged at her trousers pleading for help. She explained that while much of the neighbourhood of San Miguel had been wiped out, people still tried to salvage what they could. Some were sitting amongst their mud strewn possessions including a sofa, she added.

People sit amongst debris and removed possessions. Their legs are drenched with mud and they sit amongst bags and items they have salvaged.​

In one image, a man is seen sitting alone amongst debris, with roads and pathways now invisible in amongst the mud. People were still living in the rubble in Mocoa, our correspondent said. She posted one image of a volunteer, who said he had saved hundreds with just a torch for help. He is one of many aiding people who were trapped by the mud.

A man sits amongst a desolate landscape of abandoned and broken buildings and collapsed road structure.​

Colombia's president has declared a state of emergency, committing 40,000m pesos ($13.9m; £11.1m) towards "addressing humanitarian priorities" in the disaster's aftermath. Laura posted an image of Red Cross workers at the scene, who are still continuing their efforts despite the dwindling chances of rescue. She captioned the image: "Over 270 confirmed dead, but they say 374 are still missing."

Colombia landslide: A vision of life in mud-covered Mocoa - BBC News