Up to 1,000 feared dead after landslide buries Mexico town

[jannyk]

Source: MSNBC

OAXACA, Mexico — 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.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39398543/ns/weather/

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Reports: Landslide buries hundreds of homes in Mexico

Source: MSNBC

OAXACA, Mexico — A landslide buried some 300 homes in southwestern Mexico early on Tuesday and is feared to have killed hundreds while they slept, local authorities and media said.

Heavy rain in the mountains of Oaxaca state loosened the soil around the town of Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec, four hours' drive from the capital of Oaxaca, famous for its colonial buildings and nearby archeological sites.

Authorities said bad weather had affected roads in the area and would delay rescue teams. A civil protection source declined to comment on the estimated number of victims but Excelsior, a leading national newspaper, said 1,000 people were feared dead.

A storm system in the western Caribbean has generated widespread rain in the area over the past week.

Read more: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39398543/ns/today

[Turborama]

2. Up To 1,000 Feared Dead In Mexico Landslide

Alex Watts, Sky News Online

As many as 1,000 people are feared dead in a landslide in a remote area in southern Mexico.

Locals said a hillside collapsed in the town of Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec in Oaxaca state, burying up to 300 homes.

The state's governor Ulises Ruiz said "between 500 and 600 people - they're talking about up to 1,000" may have died.

"It is raining a lot and we are told that an area about 200 metres wide (collapsed)," he said.

Rescue teams have not yet reached the area, which was recently hit by the heaviest rains on record.

More: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Mexico-Landslide-Up-To-600-Feared-Dead-In-Oaxaca-State-Say-Reports/Article/201009415746944?lpos=World_News_Carousel_Region_1&lid=ARTICLE_15746944_Mexico_Landslide:_Up_To_600_Feared_Dead_In_Oaxaca_State,_Say_Reports

[Turborama]

3. Update: Mexico soldiers reach homes buried in landslide - Death toll could be lower, Pres. indicates

OAXACA, Mexico — The first 30 soldiers from a relief convoy reached a remote hillside town that was hit overnight by a landslide, Mexican President Felipe Calderon said Tuesday, and their reports indicate fewer deaths than initially reported.

Most of the convoy, as well as dozens of vehicles and digging equipment, has been unable to reach the town in Oaxaca state due to a road cut off by a raging river. Helicopters were grounded by the bad weather as well.

The soldiers "found serious damage but possibly not of the magnitude initially estimated," Calderon said.

Donato Vargas, an official in Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec who was reached by satellite phone early Tuesday, said 500 people were missing there and that 300 homes were buried. A state official later said 7 had died and 100 were missing, and that was lowered to 4 dead and 12 missing by late afternoon.

Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39398543/ns/weather/