Natural Disasters

In Colombia it is common to hear about landslides.

May 19, 2015, Colombia's Liboriana River overflowed, causing a landslide that left 78 dead and hundreds injured. It has been reported that it is the worst natural disaster that Colombia has suffered since 1999.

The landslide occurred at 3:00 a.m. local time, in the province of Antioquía, while the majority of the population was sleeping, taking residents by surprise. The cause was the heavy rains that affected the Liboriana. As the river rose, mud and debris flooded the region, heading toward homes along the river and leaving hundreds of people homeless.

Its effect was the destruction of the town. Homes and other buildings were swept away by the force of mud and debris.

A landslide is defined as the movement of a mass of rock, debris, or earth down a slope. Landslides are a type of "mass wasting," which denotes any down-slope movement of soil and rock under the direct influence of gravity. The term "landslide" encompasses five modes of slope movement: falls, topples, slides, spreads, and flows.