Colombia river flood victims continue clean up

Описание: (3 Apr 2017) The death toll from Friday night's floods, one of the worst natural disasters to strike Colombia in years, was expected to rise as many people still remained unaccounted for, and bodies were still being pulled from the thick mud, tree limbs and debris that covered much of the southern city of Moaca.
The deluge smashed houses, tore trees out by the roots and washed cars and trucks away.
On Monday search-and-rescue teams combed through the debris and helped people who had been clawing at huge mounds of mud by hand.
The avalanche of water and debris also destroyed roads and bridges, knocked out power in half of the province of Putumayo, where Moaca is located, and destroyed the area's fresh water network, creating dangerous and unsanitary conditions.
Moaca is vulnerable to flooding. It is surrounded by the three rivers in a natural basin created by the surrounding mountains.
The danger has grown worse in recent years because of deforestation, which eliminates some protection from runoff, and because many people built their homes close to the water.
But the triggering event was rainfall of more than 5 inches (130 millimeters) that began late Friday.
A 1989 hydrology report for the Agricultural Ministry warned that just such a disaster could happen unless steps were taken to reinforce the riverbanks, channel water away from the town and restore some of the forest.
It was not immediately clear why those steps had not been taken.

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