Heartbreaking testimonies after landslides in Venezuela: “The city is lost, Los Tejerias is lost”

“The city is lost, Los Tejerias is lost.” The testimony is heart-wrenching Carmen MelendezHe has lived for 55 years in this city, located about 52 km from Caracas in the Venezuelan state of Aragua.

Melendez, one of the neighbors, waited for news Margot Silva, a missing relative. Living in a neighboring town, she had gone to Las Tejarias to buy groceries. “When we see something like this for the first time, we know we’re going to get through it, but we regret the human losses.”He described.

Company AFP The scene in the disaster area was found to be apocalyptic: houses were destroyed with several meters of mud, many trees were dragged down the mountain to the streets and businesses were completely destroyed, making this year the worst landslide in a country that has experienced record highs this year. the rain

Giant trees were swept away by the worst floods in the last 30 years.Bordered by hills, the city is crossed by the main road.

Cars and pieces of houses were swept away by currents up to six meters into structures closest to the riverbank, many of which lost their walls.

Meanwhile, the butcher shop, which was closed due to the pandemic and scheduled to reopen on Monday, was covered in sediment that damaged the refrigeration equipment and everything inside. “After two years of closure we were waiting for the meat to be shipped”counted Ramon ArveloA worker helping to remove the mud.

“I never thought something of this magnitude would happen, it was something strong,” he said. Loris Venezuela50, she tearfully saw the disaster and reached out to offer help.

According to the agency EFEElectricity supply has also been completely cut off, and no power is available in any sector of the city and its surroundings.

Nicolás Maduro’s rule is confirmed At least 25 people have died and 52 are missing in the landslide in Las Tejerias, an industrial city in central Venezuela, added to the sad toll of record-breaking rain this year. Another 13 people have died in various parts of the country due to the rains that have been falling for the past few weeks.

Detectives from the Criminal and Criminal Scientific Investigation Corps (CICPC) informed the agency hours after Vice President Delsey Rodriguez provided the remains of the 22 dead. EFE what The number was at least 25 deadA fact attested to by doctors who have migrated to the area.

In Las Tejerías, the tragedy occurred after three hours of heavy rain on Saturday afternoon, causing several rivers to overflow and carrying sediment, rocks and trees from the mountaintop.

About 1,000 officers were involved in the rescue operation, he told AFP Remigio CeballosInterior and Justice Minister Chavista visited the scene to check the damage.

“We had a huge landslide as a result of climate change, there was a vacuum last night after Hurricane Julia passed and it quickly formed a crater,” the minister said.

Crews with machinery cleared roads covered with debris and mud from the floods. While touring the disaster area, Ceballos said “the rainfall was record high” and the average amount of water that falls in a month fell in one day.

“The ground is saturated with this heavy rain and we have unfortunate losses”The minister added.

Drone footage used by rescue crews showed mud and debris covering several streets in Las Tejerias, where neighbors tried to retrieve the mud from inside their homes.

President Nicolás Maduro ordered three days of national mourning for the victims.

The Tigres de Aragua baseball team, the national sport, used its stadium as a donation collection center. Same goes for Leones del Caracas.

Venezuela has been hit by unusual rains in several statesThis is the worst disaster this year so far.

In fact, in Julia state, the country’s oil tank, officials dealt with flooding in several municipalities this weekend.

In 1999, a large landslide in Vargas state in the north of the country killed around 10,000 people.

With information from AFP

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