1,000 people could be trapped in Mexico landslide, governor says

CNN, By the CNN Wire Staff, September 28, 2010 11:05 a.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Rescue officials had yet to arrive, some residents complained
• The mudslide could have fallen atop up to 300 homes, Gov. Ulises Ruiz said

For more on this story, go to CNN Mexico

Mexico City, Mexico (CNN) -- Up to 1,000 people may have been trapped by a landslide in the southwestern Mexico state of Oaxaca, Gov. Ulises Ruiz said Tuesday morning.

A hill about 650 feet wide (200 meters) collapsed early Tuesday, sending tons of mud over as many as 300 houses, Ruiz told CNN affiliate Televisa.

Rescue officials, heavy machinery and police and military authorities were on their way to the scene, Ruiz said.

"We expect to get there in time to rescue these people," he said.

Ruiz said several rivers have overflowed their banks due to heavy rain in the area and many roads are blocked by landslides, making it difficult for rescuers to reach the affected areas.

Some residents were complaining Tuesday morning that help was slow in coming.

"Police and rescue officials still have not arrived at the landslide zone and there are many landslides on the road," one person posted on the Twitter internet blogging site.

The region has been plagued by extremely heavy rainfall over the past two weeks, most recently by the remnants of Tropical Storm Matthew, which are still stalled over the area Tuesday, according to CNN Meteorologist Brandon Miller.

Satellite data indicates that 300 mm (11.8 inches) of rain has fallen in the area of the landslide in the past three days, Miller said.

Many houses are built on the edge of ridges on the steep terrain in the state, which stands 2,000 feet above sea level, making it conducive to landslides in severe weather.

More rain is forecast in the region in the next day and a half, Miller said.

The severe weather led civil protection authorities to declare a state of emergency Monday for the Oaxaca state municipalities of Oaxaca de Juarez, San Felipe Tejalapam, San Jacinto Amilpas, San Lorenzo Cacaotepec, San Pablo Etla, Santa Lucia del Camino and Tlalixtac de Cabrera. A municipality in Mexico is a geographic division within a state, similar to a county in the United States.

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