Flooding and river overflow in Valle del Cauca due to winter emergency

The rains of recent days have generated different emergencies throughout the country, although there are some regions where the winter wave has predominated, the climate sensation is noticeable by most Colombians. One of the departments that has suffered the most from the harshness of this storm is Valle del Cauca, because in the last few hours one of its municipalities was severely flooded, while rivers and roads in other areas are heavily affected.

Although rainfall was noticeable in much of the department, the main emergencies were recorded in the northern and central areas, municipalities such as Geneva, Buga, Tuluá, Roldanillo, Riofrío, among others, presented various warnings for possible landslides and growth in their water tributaries, however, the rains were in sectors such as Yumbo and Cali, where there was intermittent rainfall throughout the day.

However, the most notoriously affected jurisdiction was Seville in the north of the Valley, as social media users recorded the severe flooding that occurred in several neighborhoods. Water reached half of the houses and some villagers had to swim to help other inhabitants and try to rescue some of their belongings.

According to the mayor of Seville, Jorge Palacio, the constant rains for more than two hours, collapsed the sewage system. The San José, Montecristo, La Chillona, Sanabria and San Marcos river overflowed in some sectors and directly affected five neighborhoods of the municipality, at least 200 families were affected and nearly 70% reported the final loss of their belongings.

Faced with this calamity, Mayor Palacio announced that temporary shelters were set up in different administrative institutions in the municipality, however, many of the affected families were opposed to leaving their homes. Only six people from the group of victims will be temporarily relocated by the local administration and the rest are expected to access this benefit. The Unified Command Post will work on the crisis study to determine the actions to be taken in conjunction with departmental and national bodies.

It is expected that in the next few hours at the headquarters of the mayor's office, a collection point will open for the receipt of aid and various implements that will allow the affected community to assist, this, so that citizens can bring non-perishable food, blankets, blankets and other utensils that serve as a livelihood for this population .

On the other hand, the growth of the Guabas river in Geneva generated the overflow of the San José ravine, a situation that directly affected the road that connects this municipality with the center of the department. In addition, the mountainous area also recorded arteries hindered by the mass removed by the rains.

As was able to establish the newspaper El País, the Coordinator of Risk Management of Geneva, Jorge García, pointed out that in rural areas the concern was high due to the constant rainfall, in addition to the strong increase that occurred in the Guabas river at the height of the Costa Rica district.

For its part, the Tuluá River also suffered the consequences of the climate, as there was a significant increase in the level of its channel. This alerted the authorities to a possible overflow, but it remained at the limit. However, the increase in flow was noticeable, since it was a few meters from reaching the bridges that cross it at the height of the center of the municipality.

At the moment there is no official report from the departmental authorities, however, Ideam warnings see constant rains until the end of May, predominating in the Pacific and Andean region.

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