Colombia - thousands of flood victims after weeks of rain

Colombia - thousands of flood victims after weeks of rain
Colombia - thousands of flood victims after weeks of rain
Anonim

Large areas of Colombia have received heavy rainfall since early July. According to the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD), the rain has caused more than 80 floods or landslides in 19 departments across the country, affecting more than 5,000 families.

Flooding in the Meta Department affected the municipalities of El Castillo, Lejanias, El Dorado, Guamal, Cubaral, Granada, Acazia and Villavicencio. The department government announced on 6 July that 1,245 families were affected and 131 families had been evacuated. Twenty-four houses, several bridges and more than 1,000 hectares of crops were damaged. The Meta government said the rivers Ariari, Guape, Guamal, Guayariba, Urichare, Cumral and La Calle overflowed after heavy rains in early July.

Hundreds of houses were damaged by flooding in the municipalities of Sibundoy and Mocoa of the Putumayo Department on July 4, 2020. More than 2,000 families have been affected by the media.

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Meanwhile, in Antioquia, the department government reports that 4,575 people have been affected by heavy rains and winds and 39 houses have been destroyed, with the municipality of Vigia del Fuerte hit hardest after the Atrato, Murri and Arcia rivers overflowed around 8 July. Severe flooding was also reported in Yali municipality, where a state of emergency was declared. The Colombian Civil Defense reported rainfall deaths in El Bagra (2) and in the municipality of Caldas.

Several other fatalities have been reported from floods, landslides or collapsed buildings throughout the country, including in Samana, Caldas department, Chaparral in Tolima department and Timbiki in Cauca.

Three people died as a river overflowed its banks, sweeping away a house in Piedequest, Santander Department, on 08 July. Meanwhile, heavy rain on July 11 triggered a landslide in Santa Marta, Magdalena, causing a house to collapse and two deaths.

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