Up to 1,000 people might have perished after a rain-soaked mountainside gave way and buried hundreds of homes in southwestern Mexico, the local governor said Tuesday.
Oaxaca Gov. Ulises Ruiz told the Televisa television network that the 4 a.m. landslide wiped-out at least 300 homes in the town of Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec, population 9,000.
“There could be between 500, 600 people, maybe 1,000” dead, the governor told Televisa.
“We haven’t reached the location yet,” Ruiz said, adding that rescue teams were being dispatched to the area.
“There has been lots of rain, rivers have overflowed and we’re having a hard time reaching the area because there are landslides on the roads,” he added.
Heavy rain in the mountains of Oaxaca state loosened the soil around the town, about four hours’ drive from the capital of Oaxaca, a city famous for its colonial buildings and nearby archeological sites.
Read the rest of this entry »