[April 10, 2011] Mudslide kills 4 in Colombia Tweet Bogota, Apr 10, 2011 (EFE via COMTEX) -- Four people, among them a pregnant woman, died when a mudslide buried several dwellings in the northwestern Colombian city of Medellin, a fire department spokesman told Efe on Sunday. The mudslide buried four ramshackle homes in the La Sierra neighborhood of Medellin, the capital of Antioquia province, fire department Capt. Hector Vidal Franco said. Firefighters were able to rescue two slightly-injured children from the ruins of the homes, Vidal said. "This is the first emergency situation that we've handled this year in Medellin (where there have been) victims," Vidal said, adding that last year in the same part of town other landslides caused by heavy rains killed a number of people. The most recent mudslide was the result of the heavy rains in the past 24 hours, a period during which "the water has not stopped falling," Vidal said. The forecast is for the rains around the country to continue and even increase, the weather service said. The situation "is normal for the period ... of the first rainy season of the year, which is being influenced by the 'La Niña' (weather) phenomenon," the weather service added. Colombia suffered its worst rainy season on record last year, with 310 deaths and 2.22 million people affected in one way or another. The government declared states of emergency to be able to deal with the bad weather, which significantly damaged bridges, roads and homes all over the country. EFE ocm/bp [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]