The rains recorded in recent hours in Venezuela have caused landslides on several roadsas well as floods in different states, where hundreds of people partially or totally lost their homes, according to reports offered this Monday by the authorities.
During a visit to Las Tejerías, where there have already been 36 deaths due to a landslide, Nicolás Maduro admitted that his administration knew of the risk that it implied for the residents to remain in their homes, although nothing was done to evacuate them.
In dialogue with the media, Maduro said: “I was ten days in joint transmission. He was very concerned about how the soil was becoming saturated with water. The mountains were becoming saturated, and we ordered a check on all the mountains near the towns because they were becoming saturated.. Now comes the experience, Diosdado, of 1999… The other experiences we have had… 2003, 2010. The soils are saturated with water; they become impregnated and then break off in gigantic pieces”.
Meanwhile, the director of Civil Protection of the Portuguesa state (west), Daniel Márquez, indicated in statements to the state channel Venezuelan Television (VTV) that there is 250 families affected by rainfall, especially in the municipalities San Genaro y Esteller where pipes overflowed, causing flooding.
Also, he pointed out that a bridge collapsed partially, so vehicular passage was restricted.
For his part, the governor of Zulia state (west), Manuel Rosales, reported at a press conference that in the municipality of Baralt there are some 55 homes affectedof which 27 are collapsed and cannot be inhabited.
He added that in the agricultural zone of the South of the Maracaibo lake more than 150,000 productive hectares have been flooded.
Rosales affirmed that five shelters are activated in the region.
In the state of Trujillo (west), the mayor of the municipality of La Ceiba, Darlin Moreno, reported that the sectors of Moporo, El Ciénego and La Carpa suffered floods, while sharing images on his Instagram account showing flooded houses and streets .
The governor of the state of Lara (west), Adolfo Pereira, pointed out on his Twitter account that there are 11 sectors “committed” in the Iribarren municipality, with 15 victims who are in “solidarity hostels”.
Likewise, he said that there are families who lost belongings, roofs and personal belongings that are being cared for by the Governor’s Office and the Mayor’s Office.
The mayor of San Cristóbal in the state of Táchira (west), Silfredo Zambrano, said that so far they have registered 33 landslides in various sectors of the city, although maintenance has been done with machinery provided by the national government.
On the other hand, the mayor of the Baruta municipality in Miranda (center), Darwin González, reported, also on Twitter, that A pregnant woman died on Saturday after her house collapsed due to heavy rains.
Civil Protection of the Mérida state (west) announced, on the same social network, the discovery of the body of a 63-year-old man who was dragged by the current of the Capaz River in the Andrés Bello municipality on September 17, as a result of the intense rainfall.
In this way, the number of deaths due to the rains of the last two weeks amounts to 20not including the 36 deaths recorded by the Tejerías landslide, Aragua state, where the search for the disappeared still continues.
(With information from EFE)
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