"Disaster Foretold" Leaves Hundreds Dead in Colombia, Many of Them Kids

Apr 6, 2017 | Associated Press
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People were caught off guard when a devastating flash flood surged through a small city in southern Colombia, but not everyone was surprised. Government agencies, land use experts, and environmental organizations had said for years that Mocoa could face dangerous flooding. Many who lived in the most vulnerable areas were aware of the warnings, even if they didn’t heed them. And yet the city continued to spread into the floodplains west of downtown.

“Unfortunately, in Colombia we don’t have a good assessment of risk, or good land use policies to prohibit people from settling in areas like these,” said Marcela Quintero, a researcher with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, one of the organizations that raised the alarm about deforestation in the area.