Emergency in Santa Marta after strong storms

The electrical storms that occurred in Santa Marta (Magdalena) during the night of this Monday caused a great collapse in different parts of the city, where floods of up to 50 centimeters deep were reported in streets, homes and shopping centers.

According to Jorge Lizarazo, director of the Risk Management and Climate Change Office of Santa Marta, approximately 2,500 homes were affected in 42% of the city and mobility was reduced by 56% due to the emergency.

The Civil Defense, the Red Cross and the Firefighters of the capital of Magdalena they attended to the situation, helping citizens whose homes were flooded and drivers of vehicles trapped in the streets during the heavy downpour.

In the business, several places had floods and some shopping centers in the city had to be evacuated due to the storm.

“It was not a prolonged downpour over time, but it was strong, which produced inconveniences in some sectors of the city,” said a volunteer from the fire department for the local newspaper Hoy Diario.

The storms They started around 6:30 in the afternoon and lasted until around 9:00 in the evening. During and after these rains the Samarians became desperate as they tried to save their furniture and belongings.

Some of the most affected areas were those surrounding the Tamacá stream, which overflowed and caused damage to nearby homes.

“There were floods and landslides in 42 percent of the city,” reported Jorge Lizarazo, who also said that the downpour unleashed a level 3 emergency.

The authorities warned citizens located in the vicinity of the rivers coming from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, since the reports of the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (Ideam) assure that the rains can be prolonged. Likewise, he made a call to be alert due to the high levels that the Magdalena River presents due to the rainy season, which continues to affect the Caribbean region of the country.

According to the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies of Colombia (Ideam), the country experiences the second rainy season and the evolution of the “La Niña” phenomenon, which has left nearly a thousand families affected in the Caribbean, Andean and Pacific regions.

The constant rains are due “to the continuous cooling of the waters of the tropical Pacific Ocean”The Ideam reported. In addition, he explained that “International centers estimate that cold ocean conditions will remain at the threshold of” La Niña “for the remainder of 2020 and the first part of 2021.”Therefore, not only will there be floods, but also landslides and strong winds.

Ideam called on government entities to “activate the prevention and contingency plans against the presence of floods, avalanches and landslides ”.

Among the cities most impacted by the increase in rainfall is Montería, which, according to the Secretary of Government Gabriel Moreno, registered about 800 families affected by the rains.

For its part, the Administrative Department of the System for the Prevention, Attention and Recovery of Disasters of the Government of Antioquia (Dapard), stated in a report that more than 180 families and 10 municipalities affected by the rains in the department.

On October 5, according to the inhabitants of Barranquilla, floods in Carrera 50, one of the main roads in the city.

The Ideam stated that the rainy season will last until the end of the year and that due to this, floods can continue to occur throughout the national territory.