Ten killed as massive landslide buries homes near Medellín, Colombia

At least 10 fatalities were reported following a landslide near Granizal village in the Bello municipality of Medellín on June 24. Approximately 15 people were injured, and another 15 were reported missing.

Among the deceased were two sisters, aged 10 and 11. Additionally, four members of a family died, and only a six-month-old baby was rescued alive from the mud.

The landslide buried at least 10 homes and occurred in the early hours of the morning after the La Negra stream overflowed.

“We heard the rumble, and everyone woke up and ran outside. When we got out, everyone was running and shouting ‘a landslide, a landslide!’” said a resident, Yulieth Arango.

The landslides were triggered by ongoing torrential rains that have affected much of the region. Several public roads have become impassable, submerged in mud, and with vehicles swept away.

According to the Governor of Antioquia, evacuation orders have been issued for Altos de Oriente 1 and 2 and the Manantiales sectors in the village, as the risk of landslides remains high.

“We have already recovered 10 bodies, and 15 more injured people are currently receiving proper care. Evacuation is important. Life comes first,” said Governor Andrés Julián Rendón Cardona.

Approximately 120 personnel from multiple agencies have been deployed to assist with the response, including the Early Warning System of Medellín and the Aburrá Valley (SIATA), which will install alert sirens in case of further landslides.

Mayor of Bello, Lorena González Ospina, stated that the evacuated families have access to temporary shelters established at the Regalo de Dios Community Action Board, the Oasis de Paz Community Action Board, the Euclides Pool, the Fe y Alegría Grijelmo School, and locations in the Zamora neighborhood, including Casa Betania and San Juan de Luz.

Rishav Kothari

Rishav Kothari is Editor-in-Chief of The Watchers, where he runs the newsroom and covers earthquakes, volcanoes, severe weather and space weather.

• Rishav Kothari

  A 19-year-old Nebraska teacher reportedly tied her pupils together with twine and led them to safety through a blizzard in January 1888
• Rishav Kothari

  NASA built the Opportunity rover to last 90 days on Mars, and Martian winds helped keep it alive for nearly 15 years by blowing dust off its solar panels, until a planet-wide dust storm in 2018 blocked sunlight and silenced the rover
• Rishav Kothari

  In the winter of 1811–12, earthquakes near New Madrid, Missouri, shook so hard that witnesses saw the Mississippi River flow backward, and the shaking left a brand-new lake in Tennessee
• Rishav Kothari

  On 28 August 1859 a solar storm shocked telegraph operators and threw sparks on other lines, and on 2 September Boston to Portland clerks unhooked their batteries and kept sending for more than two hours on the aurora’s current alone.