Mexican mudslides: a recurring nightmare

Photos show that the landslides that left eleven missing are not a new thing: it’s the fourth fatal one in Mexico since 2006.

THOUGH THE DEATH TOLL from the landslides in Mexico has been drawn back somewhat, with the number of people missing now reported as 11 rather than the thousands feared.

Local authorities say that when the affected area was examined, there were eight adults and three children missing, with the number of houses affected far fewer than first feared.

The village of Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec, 300 miles southeast of Mexico City, remain in mourning for those lost, and president Felipe Calderon has said the government would do whatever was necessary to assist the victims.

Still, he horrific living conditions caused by such freak accidents is not a new thing. Indeed, a quick look through photographic archives shows that Mexico is more prone than most to heavy mudslides: people have been killed in landslides no fewer than four times in the last five years.

Mexican mudslides: a recurring nightmare

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1 - Mexico Landslide 2010
Cars are buried under mud after a landslide in the town of Santa Maria de Tlahuitoltepec, Mexico Tuesday Sept. 28, 2010. A mudslide first thought to have buried hundreds of people has left 11 missing and there are no confirmed dead, authorities said, backing off earlier predictions of a catastrophe in Mexico's rain-soaked southern state of Oaxaca. (AP Photo/Luis Alberto Cruz Hernandez)
2 - Mexico Landslide 2010
Men inspect a vehicle buried under mud after a landslide in the town of Santa Maria de Tlahuitoltepec, Mexico Tuesday Sept. 28, 2010. A mudslide first thought to have buried hundreds of people has left 11 missing and there are no confirmed dead, authorities said, backing off earlier predictions of a catastrophe in Mexico's rain-soaked southern state of Oaxaca. (AP Photo/Luis Alberto Cruz Hernandez)
3 - Mexico Landslide 2010
Overall view of the town of Santa Maria de Tlahuitoltepec, Mexico, Tuesday Sept. 28, 2010, after a landslide occurred. A mudslide first thought to have buried hundreds of people has left 11 missing and there are no confirmed dead, authorities said, backing off earlier predictions of a catastrophe in Mexico's rain-soaked southern state of Oaxaca. (AP Photo/Luis Alberto Cruz Hernandez)
4 - Mexico Landslide 2010
Men inspect a vehicle buried under mud after a landslide in the town of Santa Maria de Tlahuitoltepec, Mexico Tuesday Sept. 28, 2010. A mudslide first thought to have buried hundreds of people has left 11 missing and there are no confirmed dead, authorities said, backing off earlier predictions of a catastrophe in Mexico's rain-soaked southern state of Oaxaca. (AP Photo/Luis Alberto Cruz Hernandez)
5 - Mexico Landslide 2010
A rescue worker uses a zip-line to cross a civilian through an overflowed river in the town of Santa Maria de Tlahuitoltepec, Mexico, Tuesday Sept. 28, 2010. A mudslide first thought to have buried hundreds of people has left 11 missing and there are no confirmed dead, authorities said, backing off earlier predictions of a catastrophe in Mexico's rain-soaked southern state of Oaxaca. (AP Photo/Luis Alberto Cruz Hernandez)
6 - Mexico landslides 2006
Municipal police help in clearing the debris after a mudslide caused by heavy rains buried several vehicles on a road near the town of Xicotepec de Juarez, Mexico on Thursday Sept. 7, 2006. At least four people were killed but the search continues for more victims.(AP Photo)
7 - Mexico Landslides 2007
Military transport the body of a mudslide victim in San Miguel Eloxochitlan, Mexico, Thursday, July 5, 2007. Rescuers digging through mud and rocks have recovered at least 14 bodies from a bus carrying 40 to 60 passengers which was buried on a rural road after a mountainside gave way on July 4, 2007. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
8 - Mexico Landslides 2007
Residents remove the body of a boy, wrapped in a white cloth, after a mudslide in Acapulco, Mexico, Saturday, Sept. 1, 2007. Six people were reportedly killed in mudslides in the city Saturday, as rain from nearby Tropical Storm Henriette pounded the area. (AP Photo/Gonzalo Perez)
9 - Guatemala mudslides 2010
A boy refuses to walk over the debris in Palin, south of Guatemala City after a mudslide caused by tropical storm Agatha on Sunday, May 30, 2010. Torrential rains brought by the first tropical storm of the 2010 season, pounded Central America and southern Mexico, triggering deadly landslides.(AP Photo/Moises Castillo)