Begin typing your search above and press return to search.
proflie-avatar
Login
exit_to_app
election commmission
access_time 22 Nov 2024 4:02 AM GMT
Champions Trophy tournament
access_time 21 Nov 2024 5:00 AM GMT
The illness in health care
access_time 20 Nov 2024 5:00 AM GMT
The fire in Manipur should be put out
access_time 21 Nov 2024 9:19 AM GMT
America should also be isolated
access_time 18 Nov 2024 11:57 AM GMT
Munambam Waqf issue decoded
access_time 16 Nov 2024 5:18 PM GMT
DEEP READ
Munambam Waqf issue decoded
access_time 16 Nov 2024 5:18 PM GMT
Ukraine
access_time 16 Aug 2023 5:46 AM GMT
Foreign espionage in the UK
access_time 22 Oct 2024 8:38 AM GMT
exit_to_app
Homechevron_rightWorldchevron_rightRain-fuelled landslide...

Rain-fuelled landslide sweeps through Venezuela town; 22 dead

text_fields
bookmark_border
Rain-fuelled landslide sweeps through Venezuela town; 22 dead
cancel

Las Tejerais, Venezuela: A landslide in central Venezuela left at least 22 people dead and more than 50 missing after a river overflowed, officials said Sunday, in the latest deadly disaster caused by heavy rains to hit the country.

Dozens of people have died in recent months in the crisis-hit South American nation as a result of historically high precipitation.

"We are seeing very significant damage here, human losses: so far, we have already found 22 dead, and there are more than 52 people missing," Vice President Delcy Rodriguez told local media at the scene in the town of Las Tejerias. "We are working to find these people."

Houses and businesses were destroyed and felled trees littered the town's streets, which were covered with mud and debris, including splintered wood, household items, and mangled cars.

"The village is lost. Las Tejerias is lost," 55-year-old resident Carmen Melendez, who has lived her whole life in the town 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the capital, Caracas, in Aragua state, told AFP.

Around a thousand people had joined the rescue efforts, Interior and Justice Minister Remigio Ceballos told AFP, as he also worked at the site.

Local residents dug through the remains of battered homes looking for loved ones, while search teams arrived with dogs hoping to find survivors trapped in the rubble.

"We have a huge landslide as a result of the changing climate," Ceballos said, referring to the effects of Hurricane Julia, which passed just north of Venezuela the night before.

"There was a record rainfall," he added as he surveyed the disaster site -- as much rain in one day as is usually seen in one month.

"These strong rains saturated the ground," he said.

Images taken by rescue teams' drones showed huge amounts of earth piled up in the streets as residents tried to shovel out the meters of mud that flowed into their houses.

President Nicolas Maduro declared three days of national mourning for the victims, while Venezuelans took to social media to offer assistance to the town.

Caracas baseball team Los Leones said they would organize a collection for the victims, asking for "non-perishable foods, water, and clothes."

The landslide, caused by the biggest river flood in the area in 30 years, is the worst so far this year in Venezuela, which has seen historic rain levels in recent months.

Show Full Article
TAGS:#Venezuela
Next Story