Flooding and landslides have killed over 35 people, washed away food crops and damaged thousands of homes
BOGOTA (AlertNet) - Severe flooding and landslides caused by torrential rains have killed 36 people, officials said, as Colombia struggles to cope with the onset of the rainy season.
Heavy rainfall has also disrupted the lives of over 66,000 people, washed away swathes of food crops and damaged around 12,500 homes, according to the latest report by Colombia’s disaster risk management agency (SNPAD).
This year’s rainy season started in mid-March and is expected to last until June.
In the worst-affected regions in northwest Colombia, farms and homes are submerged while local residents wade through shoulder-deep floodwaters and move around in canoes.
Downpours have also damaged nearly 230 roads, and some major highways connecting cities have been closed after they were blocked by debris from landslides.
Colombia’s president, Juan Manuel Santos, has urged local governors and mayors to prepare for major flooding.
“We have to work to determine which areas are most at risk of flooding and focus on preventing flooding there,” he told reporters earlier this week. “We know it’s not an easy task and that it requires time, logistics and experts who can help us get prepared.”
AWARENESS INCREASING
Government officials say awareness about flood prevention has increased in Colombia, and the South American nation is better prepared to cope with the rainy season than in previous years.
In 2010, severe flooding pushed the government to declare a state of emergency.
“We have sufficient resources to respond to the emergencies we have experienced so far,” said Carlos Ivan Marquez, head of SNPAD, adding that the government has allocated $60 million to respond to the latest floods.
Across the country, Colombia’s armed forces are helping build sand banks to contain floodwaters and repairing broken bridges. The air force has delivered 33 tonnes of humanitarian aid, including tents and food parcels, to affected communities in the south.
Earlier this week, the government announced plans to construct 100,000 free homes for the “poorest of the poor” over the next two years, with priority given to families who have lost their houses due to flooding.
CALLS FOR MORE EFFORT
But the high death toll - just six weeks after the rainy season began - and widespread disruption have renewed calls for local governments to boost prevention measures and ensure that families living in flood-prone areas are evacuated ahead of time.
Some authorities have been criticised for failing to prepare adequately for floods. Last month, the Superintendent of Public Utilities warned that water and sewage systems in around 400 municipalities were not ready for the rainy season, with drains remaining blocked.
Several local mayors and government officials are under investigation by the attorney general’s office for failing to carry out flood prevention works and for mismanaging public funds allocated to disaster response.
The governor of the central province of Cundinamarca said on Wednesday that a fifth of infrastructure improvements to prevent landslides and protect aqueducts have not been completed in the region.
In the last two years, Colombia has been battered by a series of severe floods that have killed around 700 people and disrupted the lives of more than five million.
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