More than 19 landslides have been registered, and more are possible, in the small towns of Servitá and La Reforma in Colombia’s Meta region. The landslides wreaked havoc on passengers who use the Bogotá-Villavicencio highway, blocking more than 2km of road. The highway is a key corridor for trucking between Villavicencio and Colombia’s capital of Bogotá.
Colombian newspaper El Tiempo spoke with several witnesses to the landslides, which occurred in the late evening on Thursday night after weeks of heavy rain in the region.
Leidy Johana Rojas claimed that at about 10:00 pm a landslide reached her home in Servitá. She barely survived, climbing upon a gas cylinder while she watched the landslide that buried her entire home.
Jaime Moreno was transporting palm oil from Meta to Cundimarca and traveling with his wife and children. On the way, he encountered one of the landslides and his truck became stuck in the mud that covered the road. Milena Rodríguez, his spouse, said the family was frightened and felt lucky to get out alive.
“We heard the mountain roar. It was horrible”, Rodríguez added.
Juan Carlos Guzmán, head of the risk management in the city of Villavicencio, said that more than 60 families suffered damage to their homes due to these landslides.
