Citation

Olson RS, Prieto JPS. Int. J. Mass Emerg. Disasters 1994; 13(2): 147-160.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1994, International Sociological Association, International Research Committee on Disasters)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A Richter magnitude 6.4 earthquake occurred near the Nevada del Huila volcano in southwestern Colombia on June 6, 1994, affecting an area both deforested and coincidentally saturated by heavy rains over preceding weeks. The earthquake and resultant landslides and mud flows killed an estimated 656 people and left thousands homeless, most of them non-Spanish-speaking Paez and Guambiano. Context is all-important, and the disaster response and especially reconstruction planning became rapidly political because the event affected primarily indigenous populations and occurred in a heroine poppy growing area long contested between Colombian national security forces and several guerrilla organizations.