Mass Wasting in Colombia

Landslide Mocoa April 1, 2017

Colombia is one of the most landslide-prone places in the world, with mountains, volcanoes, earthquakes, weathering and an intense rainy season all combining to create a terrain very susceptible to mass wasting. A majority of the landslides that occur in Colombia are in the mountainous western region of the country (as you can see in the image below from NASA's Disaster Program).

          A recent and devastating example is the 2017 Landslide that occurred on the first of April in Mocoa, Putumayo. Heavy rains triggered the flash floods and landslides that killed 254 people, injured 332, and left 70 missing. Soldiers, police officers, and red cross members worked side by side with the citizens to try to rescue survivors. Many were left with nothing, their houses and livelihoods destroyed. The government has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on temporary housing for displaced peoples. This catastrophe is remembered as the third largest in Colombian history. 

Mudslide Mocoa April 1, 2017

In Colombia triggers for mass wasting will always exist and there is very little humans can do to stop landslides. There are, however, ways to mitigate the effects. Better city planning, early warning systems, and not building near danger zones would help prevent disasters. According to a 2006 report from the International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment, "The Colombian government implements landslide monitoring, mitigation and stabilization programs. These include improved methods for mining subsidence prediction, better building control, improved engineering practice and communications. With landslide hazard mapping, risks and vulnerability maps are now available for major urban areas." However, it tends to be the poor and marginalized groups that live in the areas most susceptible to mass wasting, in pop-up towns on steep ridges on the out-skirts of cities. These buildings are usually built unofficially and out of code and are very susceptible to damage from mass wasting. Every year an average of 100 Colombian citizens die from landslides and there is no evidence of this slowing down over the years. The government has been working since 2011 making reforms to environmental management, but they have failed to enact anything yet.
There do seem to be private systems of warning though. For example, one may sign up for notifications for the latest weather hazards through a Colombian service provided by IDEAM (Instituto de Hidrología, Meteorología, y Estudios Ambientales) online and with an app called Mi Pronóstico which provides updates twice a day for all the regions of Colombia and provides emergency alerts.

April 19, 2017 Manizales 

Below are some interesting papers I read in my research that may be of interest.

https://www.issmge.org/uploads/publications/1/32/1994_06_0013.pdf
https://www.alnap.org/system/files/content/resource/files/main/iaeg-112.pdf
https://thebogotapost.com/mocoa-preventing-future-disaster/21536/