According to data from state authorities, at least 21 indigenous communities of Oaxaca are at risk of landslides due to the instability of hillsides throughout the state.
These conditions are of great concern in the rainy seasons, as occurred in 2010 in the community of Santa María Tlahuitoltepec, where a landslide buried 11 citizens.
The landslide that occurred during the early morning of September 28, 8 years ago, is remembered as one of the most tragic events in the Mixe region.
The news of the landslide caused the mobilization of thousands of rescuers, as the first report indicated that there were more than 400 houses buried and an incalculable number of deaths, however, as the first aid bodies arrived, they found that despite the magnitude of the landslide, the vast majority of the inhabitants of Tlahuitoltepec were safe and helping in the rescue of the victims.
After the tragedy, geologists from the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), determined that due to the risks of landslides, at least 100 families had to be relocated, but to date, the process is proceeding at a slow pace.
Reports from the State Coordination of Civil Protection of Oaxaca (CEPCO) indicate that the studies carried out in the different regions, in coordination with the Mexican Geological Service (SGM), have detected landslide risks in the communities of San Juan Evangelista Analco, San Miguel Abejones and Santa María Tlahuitoltepec, belonging to the Sierra Norte region.
These risks advanced due to the earthquakes of September 2017, so that the pertinent recommendations have been issued to the inhabitants of these communities.