On April 5, 32 municipalities in Antioquia declared themselves in public calamity due to the rains that have affected the territories of the department. Climate authorities say they will continue until May or June, so Antioquia were asked to be attentive to river flows and streams, according to RCN Radio.
Jaime Gómez Zapata, director of the Antioquia Department of Risk Management, said that municipalities such as Uramita, Amagá, Montebello and Puerto Berrío are affected by flooding crops, homes, gales and torrential avenues.
One of the most affected municipalities to date is Amagá, where six neighborhoods and eight villages have suffered the consequences of the rain, as at least seven houses were collapsed and 12,000 people were damaged.
Dagran professionals are present in the area verifying and assessing risk conditions in the face of possible damming in the upper part of the Malabrigo and Paniagua stream, and supporting the Risk Management Council in the census and emergency care. Municipality delivers humanitarian aid and removes material that obstructs roads.
In Montebello there were rains and gale causing loss of roof in some homes, and mass movement that obstructed access to El Gavilán, Gethsemane, El Socorro and El Carmelo trails. In the urban area, 24 families were affected. Municipal Council for Risk Management under evaluation.
In the Murillo district in Puerto Berrío, an overflow of the Magdalena River was reported, causing flooding to crops and belongings of 21 families. On the other hand, in Anzá there was a gale that left a loss of roofs in six houses and the collapse of the wall of a house in the Quiuna village due to sliding.
The rains in Colombia do not stop, and this was assured by the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (Ideam), which pointed out that rainfall will increase in much of the country, accompanied by showers, storms, hailstorms or gales.
For the quarter between March and May, the entity said that rains are expected to be very close to the reference climate 1991-2020, with the exception of La Guajira and the coastal areas of Atlántico, Sucre and Córdoba. In these territories, reductions in rainfall between 20 and 30 per cent are estimated.
As the director of Ideam, Yolanda González, explained, there is alarm in some southern regions by the recent indexes: “Rainfall over the last five days has increased the alert from orange to red in sectors of Tolima, Huila, Valle, Cauca, Nariño, towards the Amazon piedmont. From Putumayo and Caqueta we also keep some alert to the likelihood of landslides in much of the country.”
Similarly, the leader made a special appeal to the inhabitants of the Andean region, particularly in the departments of Norte de Santander, Santander, Cundinamarca, Boyacá and Antioquia. “For this week, especially at the end of the week and weekend, we expect an increase in rainfall,” he said.
In the specific case of Cundinamarca and Bogotá, “rainy weather conditions” and “few hours of sunshine” will be maintained. In this regard, González pointed out that water levels in the Bogotá River should be monitored and attention should be paid to the areas of the hills in the face of possible landslide conditions.
“We will have some sunny mornings, but we will maintain rainy weather conditions, especially in the evenings and evenings,” concluded the director of the entity.
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