Orange alert in Bogotá for winter

The torrential downpours have several regions of the country in emergency. In the case of Bogotá and the municipalities of La Sabana, since yesterday at noon, it has rained non-stop, this has generated emergencies and accidents that have caused impairments to mobility; as happened at kilometer 2 via La Calera, La Paloma sector, where a tree fell along with two poles, resulting in the total closure of the road, until the early morning when the fire brigade managed to uncover part of the street.

Other roads reported impairments on mobility, such as in the old Bogotá - Villavicencio corridor, in the Servitá sector, where total closure was reported due to material fall. Also, the Institute of Infrastructure and Concessions of Cundinamarca, ICCU, announced the closure of the Tequendama corridor at kilometer 8 + 500, which leads to the municipality of El Colegio, due to the fall of trees. This section dawns closed, so the authorities advise taking the alternate highway to Bogotá.

Another tragic event occurred on the southern highway of Bogotá, when a motorcyclist, apparently, because he dodged a puddle, crashed into a tractomule, killing him at the scene. Also in the town of Fontibón, several vehicles were trapped by a waterlogging, while the firefighters tried, precisely, to dredge the water left on the road.

These emergencies and effects have Bogotá on orange alert, issued by the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies, IDEAM; according to this entity, the rains in the country's capital have increased due to an influx of moisture from the west and south west of the national territory; which can generate landslides. This will maintain the forecast with moderate to heavy rain in various sectors of the city, with a likelihood of thunderstorms.

IDEAM predicts that for the next three days conditions in the regions: Pacific, Caribbean, Andean, Orinoquia and Amazonia, will be abundant cloudy with precipitation that will be stronger during the afternoon, night and early morning. This may be accompanied by electrical activity in times of heavy rain, hailstorms and/or gales, which will decrease until next Thursday, April 21.

Due to rainfall in recent days, there is a probability of landslides, so the institute issues a red alert for 14 departments in Colombia, among them: Antioquia, Boyacá, Cundinamarca, Meta, Nariño, Tolima, among others.

For Tunja, Chipaque, Fúquene, Gachancipá, Guachetá, Guatavita, Nemocón, Suesca, Tocancipá, Ubaté, Ocaña, Neiva, Pitalito and other municipalities in Boyacá, Cundinamarca, Huila, Norte de Santander and Tolima, there are orange and yellow alerts for the threat of vegetation cover fires. In La Guajira and Magdalena the probability is categorized as high.

In addition, alarms have been set for the high levels of some hydrographic areas, sudden increases, overflows and/or floods in the Rio Grande basin, which has the municipality of Turbo on red alert. For the San Juan River and its tributaries, special attention is recommended in the municipalities of Chocó and Risaralda. Also in the Magdalena River, there are areas at risk of flooding as in Santander, at risk of sudden increases in Boyacá and Cesar. In fact, these increases have municipalities such as Melgar and Silvania at risk of overflows and floods along the Sumapaz River.

IDEAM recommends to the community, among other measures;

It asks people to report road blockages to the authorities, avoid traffic in high-slope areas and report any emergencies on line #767, or on Twitter @numeral767 and the website www.invias.gov.co .

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