Rainy season begins in Colombia: there are more than 30,000 victims

The Colombian National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) announced that the first rainy season of the year will begin in the second half of March, accentuated by a La Niña phenomenon that has already left 30,600 victims and heavy material losses.

These people, belonging to some 7,855 families in 226 municipalities in 24 departments, were victims of 421 events associated with rainfall, such as landslides and floods, that occurred between January 1 and Tuesday, March 15. In addition to material losses, winter leaves 67 injured, 48 dead and seven missing.

Almost half of these disasters occurred in the last fortnight: from 1st to 15th March, 12,600 people from 3,554 families were affected, with 12 deaths, 14 injured and six missing. 1,840 homes were affected and 33 more are destroyed.

In theory, the first half of the month would close the season of least rain and drought that had begun in the last quarter of 2021. However, the arrival of La Niña brought the rainfall forward to the end of February. The transition between the two seasons should end at the end of March and the rainy season will last until June.

After June, the month in which La Niña is expected to continue with low intensity rains, weather conditions are expected to return to normal in the different thermal floors.

The regions most affected by this increase in rainfall will be the Andean and the Pacific, a forecast that coincides with the natural disasters that occurred in Antioquia, Cauca, Cundinamarca, Chocó, Huila, Tolima, the Coffee Region, Nariño and the Santanderes.

In addition to these territories already affected by the rains, information provided by the Colombian Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) extends the alert to the department of Boyacá and the Amazon and Llanero foothills.

The Directorate of Relief Agencies also points out that during the rest of March there is danger due to increased flows in the main rivers of the Andean, Pacific and Orinoquia regions, especially Cauca and Magdalena.

According to the director of UNGRD, Eduardo José González, they are giving preventive warning about the start of the rains.

In Antioquia, more than 600 families were evacuated in the municipality of San Carlos. The victims were transferred to temporary shelters with the support of the National Army. Several citizens told Blu Radio that, in the face of the sudden flood, they were unable to remove their belongings. They lost everything, considering that water reached almost to the knees of those affected, who had to leave their homes supported by relief agencies.

In Santander there were floods both in Bucaramanga and in the metropolitan area. Several municipalities were held incommunicado due to the high level of rivers and the overflow of some of them. In addition, several citizens reported floods that ended up directly affecting their homes, as water covered several centimeters of them; mainly in the municipality of Girón, Malaga and San Gil.

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