Torrential rain triggers deadly landslides and floods across Colombia, killing 13
Torrential rains in early February 2026 triggered deadly floods and landslides across Colombia, killing at least 13 people, including seven buried by a mudslide in Nariño’s Mallama municipality.
Image credit: NOAA/GOES-East, Zoom Earth, The Watchers. Acquired at 14:00 UTC on February 7, 2026
Torrential rainfall affected large parts of Colombia during the first week of February 2026, causing floods and landslides that left at least 13 people dead, according to the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD).
The country’s meteorological service, IDEAM, reported that January precipitation was 64% above the long-term average, leaving soils saturated before the arrival of the February cold front. This antecedent moisture significantly increased runoff and slope instability, making the new rainfall surge more likely to trigger destructive floods and landslides than under normal seasonal conditions.
Seven of the fatalities occurred in the southwestern department of Nariño Department at 22:30 LT on February 7 when a rain-swollen stream overflowed near the municipality of Mallama, triggering a landslide that buried several houses.
Local emergency crews, assisted by army personnel and sniffer-dog units, recovered the bodies as heavy equipment cleared thick mud and debris. Earlier in the week, UNGRD had confirmed six additional deaths linked to floods and slope failures in other departments, including Antioquia and Cauca.
Ideam said the surge in rainfall was caused by a cold front moving southward from the northern Caribbean, forcing humid air to rise over the Andean slopes and producing continuous precipitation over several days. Such frontal systems rarely reach Colombian latitudes during February, making this event meteorologically unusual.
UNGRD reported that search-and-rescue operations and debris removal are ongoing in affected zones. Authorities urged residents living on unstable slopes to relocate temporarily while risk assessments are conducted. In Nariño, several communities remain isolated after roads were blocked by landslides.
Environmental specialists warned that deforestation and informal hillside construction continue to heighten vulnerability in mountainous regions, where the combination of steep terrain, saturated soils, and uncontrolled urban expansion has led to repeated landslide disasters during heavy rainfall episodes.
Colombia’s tropical climate typically lacks distinct seasons, but IDEAM data show the country’s historical dry-wet rhythm is weakening, increasing the frequency of anomalous events such as the February 2026 cold-front rains.
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