Landslides render roads impassable in Colombia

March 27, 2011 – COLOMBIA – Sonia Gonzalez, regional director of the National Roads Institute (Invías), El Tiempo revealed that although progress is being made in the removal of slides from two sides work in Rionegro and El Playon (Santander) the operators have failed to clear the road of all the material carried by streams and river Playonero. Heavy rains have caused the deaths of 4 people, the injury of 12, and the disappearance of three others. In addition, the upheaval has caused the destruction of ten cars and 12 homes. In 4 districts of Rionegro, 150 homes were evacuated. Cracks appear in the roads leading to Barrancabermeja. The Barrancabermeja highway situation is as critical. Nearly 1,500 meters in the asphalt road has prominent cracks and is completely destabilized under ground-like. Water filtration and the action of a fault line has contributed to the collapse of the asphalt spanning a distance of 36 kilometers in the sector known as La Leona, near La Renta. “We have two helicopters hovering overhead and a commission of experts is evaluating the site to decide what to do,” said Sonia Gonzalez, winters. The two affected routes are the main choices of land transportation between Bucaramanga and Barrancabermeja. Other roads are similarly affected in Santander. –El Tiempo

Thanks EuroAtlantic for the contribution