They lived the drama of losing everything, but also the challenge of rebuilding their lives in new lands.
News Colombia.
The story of San Cayetano, in Cundinamarca, and Gramalote, in Norte de Santander, is a story of natural disasters, loss and resilience.
Both municipalities were swallowed by the earth due to geological faults and climatic phenomena, forcing their inhabitants to leave everything behind and start over in new lands.
Saint Cayetano: the earth warned of its imminent danger
On May 13, 1999, San Cayetano, a prosperous municipality in Cundinamarca, faced an emergency that would change its history forever. A geological fault began to crack the streets and buildings of the town, generating a massive displacement of mud that put its more than 5,000 inhabitants at imminent risk.
This disaster was not unexpected, since a decade earlier an avalanche had warned of the imminent danger.
The government of Cundinamarca, with the support of relief organizations such as the Red Cross and Civil Defense, made the difficult decision to preventively evacuate the affected families.
Temporary shelters were built in the Las Mercedes hamlet, where residents faced the harsh reality of leaving their homes and living in a community under emergency conditions.
However, the response was considered an example of successful prevention. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) recognized this case as an achievement in disaster management, with no fatalities and a planned relocation to the new municipal seat, inaugurated in 2002.
Although the new San Cayetano continues to face challenges, such as the lack of economic development and the loss of traditions, its inhabitants are working for a more prosperous future, betting on tourism and agricultural production.
Gramalote: an ancient curse
Gramalote, in the department of Norte de Santander, was the scene of one of the largest natural tragedies in Colombia in December 2010.
The combination of the La Niña phenomenon, intense rains and deforestation, added to a geological fault, caused the mountain that supported the town to collapse. In a matter of two days, Gramalote was literally swallowed by the earth.
Local legend tells of a “curse” cast by a priest during the bipartisan violence, condemning the town to disappear underground.
Although natural events were the cause of the disaster, the speed with which the land began to sink fueled this belief among the inhabitants.
On December 16 and 17, 2010, the entire town collapsed. Fortunately, timely evacuation allowed the 3,300 inhabitants to be saved, although they had to abandon everything they knew.
In the following years, the Colombian Government, led by President Juan Manuel Santos, carried out the largest planned relocation in the country’s history, building a new Gramalote in a more secure location.
This process was not without difficulties, from the conservation of community identity to facing new economic conditions.
A legacy of survival
Both towns, San Cayetano and Gramalote, are testament to the relentless force of nature, but also to the ability of their inhabitants to adapt and move forward.
Although the land took away everything material from them, their communities remain steadfast in rebuilding their lives and preserving their traditions.
Today, historical tourism and cultural routes offer an opportunity for the rest of the country to learn about these stories of tragedy and rebirth.
San Cayetano, with its new layout and rural landscapes, and Gramalote, with its desolate ruins that show how nature takes back what is its own, are vivid reminders that life, although fragile in the face of geological whims, always finds a way to resurface
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