Through communiqué 007 of 2022, the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) warned that this first rainy season in 2022 will have its peak rainfall during the months of April and May, “which, according to IDEAM, will be in volumes close to those recorded in the last 20 years”.
These March events have affected 5,458 families representing more than 21,500 people, leaving 19 dead, 21 injured and three missing. Likewise, damage to 3,535 homes and 46 more destroyed.
With this panorama, the Unit established guidelines for preparation and enlistment, in the face of the coming rains. The instructions were given to the national and territorial authorities, in order to prepare response capacities when dealing with conditions of vulnerability.
“Our call, which is reiterative, is to maintain prevention schemes, not to let down our guard, on the contrary, to strengthen territorial capacities, implement Early Warning Systems, continue to develop early works and, above all, to work with communities to mitigate risk and always protect life,” he said. Eduardo José González, director of the Ungrd.
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On the risks that have arisen as a result of the rains in March and that will come in the next two months: Mass movements and floods account for 80% of the damage that has been generated. Between the two there are 216 events: 160 mass movements and 56 floods. A total of 272 climate events have been recorded in 184 municipalities in 19 departments.
In infrastructure, reports indicate damage to 286 roads in the country, as well as 33 vehicular bridges and 18 pedestrian bridges. It also damaged 49 aqueducts and 12 sewers, a health center and 21 educational institutions.
The most affected departments so far have been: Cundinamarca, Cauca, Antioquia, Huila, Tolima, Armenia, Risaralda, Caldas, Chocó, Nariño, Santander and Norte de Santander.
Following the above needs, the UNGRD established that a technical commission will be held with the support of the Colombian Geological Survey to assess some critical areas and points that may suffer some type of damage. Likewise, “a response commission will be formed for the review of preventive processes and the implementation of community early warning systems”, states the entity's circular.
As the entity pointed out, Nariño is one of the areas of the country most affected by precipitation. Faced with these events, Governor Jhon Rojas reported that so far in 2022 alone, 44 municipalities have reported effects on account of 81 events affecting more than 2,300 families. In terms of roads, 177 points have been impacted, as have 14 schools and more than 1,600 hectares of crops.
The following are the recommendations of the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management to deal with the coming heavy rainy seasons in Colombia:
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