Cundinamarca declares state of emergency after deadly floods and landslides, Colombia
Image credit: Defensa Civil Colombia
Heavy rainfall affecting the department of Cundinamarca in central Colombia caused deadly floods and landslides over the past couple of days, forcing authorities to declare a state of emergency for the entire department.
The Governor of Cundinamarca, Nicolás Garcia, said 85 municipalities out of 116 have been affected by severe weather since the start of the season on March 15.
“We have decided to decree the public calamity in order to be able to attend immediately and provide faster technical support to each of the municipalities,” Garcia said on April 23, 2022.
According to media reports, 3 people died and 2 are missing after a landslide hit Viotá Municipality on April 22.
Another landslide occurred in Chachipay Municipality, causing 2 fatalities.
4 people are missing after the overflow of the La Lejía stream in Arbeláez Municipality.
Since the beginning of the new rainy season on March 15, at least 33 people have died, 45 others sustained injuries and 10 persons are missing across Colombia.
In addition, 21 524 individuals have been affected, 117 homes destroyed and 3 025 damaged.
The worst affected are Cundinamarca, Antioquia, Cauca, Valle de Cauca, Santander, Nariño, Tolima, Risaralda and Putumayo.
References:
1 DG ECHO (INGR, IDEAM) – April 26, 2022
2 Colombia – Emergency Declared After Deadly Landslides and Floods in Cundinamarca – April 26, 2022
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
Commenting rules and guidelines
We value the thoughts and opinions of our readers and welcome healthy discussions on our website. In order to maintain a respectful and positive community, we ask that all commenters follow these rules.