Authorities said that at least 22 individuals from a single hamlet in north-central Venezuela had died due to landslides and severe rains. Fifty-two more people remain missing.

According to The New York Times and other media agencies, the incident occurred in the village of Las Tejerías, located about 40 miles from Caracas’s capital.

In a press conference on Sunday, Venezuela’s vice president Delcy Rodriguez acknowledged the tragic death toll and said, “We have lost youngsters, females, all extremely regrettable,” according to The New York Times.

“There was a large landslide in the central area of Las Tejerías”, where five streams overflowed, said Rodríguez, according to Associated Press. “We have already found 22 dead people; there are more than 52 missings.”

After a heavy rain that lasted all night, disaster struck on Saturday afternoon. Around 20,000 residences in the Santos Michelena municipality are reportedly damaged, and cellphone and electricity service has virtually disappeared, according to the Aragua State Red Cross.

According to Major General Carlos Pérez Ampueda, the vice minister for risk management and civil protection, the Venezuelan government dispatched drones and dogs to the affected area on Monday.

One day after designating a disaster area and announcing three days of national mourning, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro tweeted images of the wreckage on Monday.

Rodriguez also pledged that the government would provide shelter for families and support businesses and farmers impacted by the landslides.

According to the AP, the region is just one of 11 states in Venezuela that have seen an exceptionally intense rainy season. Twenty thousand officials, including rescue workers, have been sent to the affected areas.

“The effects of the climate crisis are causing this tragedy,” Ms Rodríguez said, per The New York Times.