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

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

These people, who belong to approximately 7,855 families in 226 municipalities in 24 departments, were victims of 421 incidents involving rainfall, such as landslides and floods that occurred between January 1 and Tuesday, March 15. In addition to material losses, 67 people were injured during the winter, 48 died and 7 were missing.

Nearly half of these disasters occurred on the night of the last two weeks: from March 1 to 15, 12,600 of the 3,554 families suffered damage, 12 were killed, 14 were injured, 6 were missing; 1,840 houses were affected and 33 more were destroyed.

Theoretically, the first half of the month closes the season with the least amount of rain and drought that began in the last quarter of 2021.However, with the arrival of La Niña, precipitation increased by the end of February. The transition between the two seasons ends at the end of March and the rainy season lasts until June.

After June, the month in which La Niña is expected to continue with low intensity rains, it is expected that weather conditions will return to normal on other heat floors.

The areas most affected by this increase in rainfall will be the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, a forecast that coincides with natural disasters that occurred in Antioquia, Kauka, Cundimarca, Choco, Huila, Tolima, Coffee Region, Nariño and Santander.

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

The Relief Agency also points out that during the rest of March there is a risk due to the increased flow of major rivers in the Andean, Pacific and Orinocia regions, especially Cauca and Magdalena.

According to Eduardo José González, director of the UNGRD, they are giving preventive warnings about the rain.

In Antioquia, more than 600 families were evacuated from the Municipality of San Carlos. The victims were taken to temporary shelters with the support of the Armed Forces. Several citizens told Blu Radio that they were unable to remove their belongings in the face of a sudden flood. They lost everything considering that there was little water on the lap of those affected who had to leave their homes with the support of relief agencies.

In Santander, flooding occurred both in Bucaramanga and in the metropolitan area.Several local governments were held. Communication was interrupted due to the high level of rivers and the flooding of some of them. In addition, several citizens reported that floods directly affected their homes because the water covered several centimeters. Mainly in the municipalities of Girón, Malaga and San Gil.

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