At a Glance

Colombia's president says climate change was to blame for a landslide that killed at least 270 over the weekend.Other officials believe deforestation was also a factor in the deadly slide.

As the town of Mocoa, Colombia, continues to find bodies from a devastating flood and landslide that killed at least 270 over the weekend, the country's president has said climate change is fully to blame for the disaster.

Juan Manuel Santos said one-third of the area's average monthly rain fell in one night, triggering the flood and mudslide , the International Business Times reported. This abnormally heavy rain could only be caused by one thing, he said – climate change.

Martin Santiago, a senior United Nations official in Colombia, echoed the president's claim, telling BBC.com climate change has caused" of these natural effects" for the area.

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This aerial view shows the extensive damage caused by mudslides as a result of heavy rains in Mocoa, Colombia, on April 3, 2017.

(LUIS ROBAYO/AFP/Getty Images)

According to Dr. Jeff Masters of Weather Underground, warming oceans , like this one, in recent decades. The landslide comes just days after ; dozens were killed and estimates say the floods caused billions in damage.

Still, as was the case with recent unseasonable warmth , climate scientists warn against blaming global warming for a single weather event until studies can be performed to confirm or deny such a claim.

There are also concerns that deforestation helped trigger the deadly landslide. Many trees in the area have been cut down in recent years, which made hillsides more vulnerable to collapse with little to hold them back when the rains come.

"When the basins are deforested, they break down. It is as if we remove the protection for avoiding landslides," Adriana Soto, a Colombian conservationist and former environment minister, told BBC.com.

There's more bad news – this is just the beginning of the country's rainy season. Santos has made extra resources available to protect citizens from additional landslides, but the nation remains on edge, fearfultheybecame the latest victims of extreme weather in a changing climate.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Deadly Mudslides Strike Colombia

People stare at damages caused by mudslides following heavy rains in Mocoa, Putumayo department, southern Colombia on April 2, 2017. The death toll from a devastating landslide in the Colombian town of Mocoa stood at around 250 as rescuers clawed through piles of muck and debris in search of survivors. (Luis Robayo/AFP/Getty Images)