Bogotá and the other regions of the country declared on winter wave alert this weekend

The most recent hydrological alert bulletin from the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies, IDEAM, maintains alarms in most parts of Colombia due to floods, landslides and tributary overflows.

The orange alert is deployed in almost half of the country; during the early morning of April 22, heavy rains continued in Bogotá, also in the western part of Cundinamarca, south of Boyacá and the coffee region. For example, it was recorded that in the municipality of Cachipay, two motorcyclists were buried by a landslide, one of them died.

For the capital of the country, IDEAM has issued the red alert for the lower part of the Bogotá River and its tributaries. There is also a high risk in the middle river basin, due to the possibility of sudden increases in the eastern hills; in addition, the institute suggests paying special attention to the municipalities of La Calera, Zipaquirá, Tocancipá, Cajicá, Chia, Sopó, Funza and Cota; in the latter, emergencies due to pole falls have already been recorded in the urban area, in addition to the overflows found along the Suba - Cota road, which does not have separators or protectors for drivers, cyclists or passers-by, added to this is the poor state of the street, which daily generates accidents in the corridor.

Even, the orange alert is maintained for the threat of landslides in the country's capital. This is due to the rainfall of the last few days that have had moisture saturations in the soils; special care must be taken in areas of slope and high slope.

For today, the forecast keeps the skies cloudy and rainy in much of the Andean region. In Bogotá, today there is an estimated maximum temperature of 18 degrees and a minimum of 10°, rain will occur from 11 in the morning; there is a high probability of thunderstorms around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. On Saturday, the high cloud cover will remain, with showers during the afternoon and part of the night. On Sunday, the institute predicts very similar conditions.

IDEAM recommends that we be very attentive to the behavior of river levels, to comply with the recommendations that the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management, UNGRD, issues for the implementation of contingency measures in the event of possible impacts by overflows and floods.

According to the UNGRD, the latest report from the National Crisis Room states that: “From March 16 until the evening of April 18, 276 events were recorded in 166 municipalities in 19 departments. These 276 recorded events have already affected 5,177 families. Likewise, 28 people have lost their lives, 45 others have been injured and one is still missing.”

The head of forecasts and alerts at IDEAM, Marta Cecilia Cadena, says that the rainy season in the Andean region would maintain these conditions for the remainder of April, and will last until the end of May.

The District Institute for Risk Management and Climate Change, IDIGER, has recorded “the overturning of 901 arboreal individuals, which sometimes causes damage to electricity networks, mobility, homes and vehicles, situations that are addressed by the Secretary of the Environment, Botanical Garden of Bogotá, the Official Fire Department, Volunteer Firefighters and Civil Defense”. Therefore, he recommends keeping alert, checking the weather condition and forecast, but he makes a special appeal to people, not to throw solid waste into the street, bodies of water and sewage systems, as this can cause obstructions, causing damage to roads, basements and homes.

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