[ad_1]
The Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies, Ideam, had announced on Sunday night that the hurricane could move to a higher category in the early morning hours due to the speed and force with which it advanced towards the islands of Providencia and Santa Catalina.
After one in the morning on Monday, the institution warned that, according to projections, the hurricane is already in category three.
“IOTA has moved to category 3, with sustained winds of 205 km / h. At this moment, it is 73 km from Providencia and 151 km from San Andrés, “Ideam warned through its Twitter account.
(Read also: Hurricane Iota is already category 2: tension in San Andrés and Providencia).
The director of Ideam, together with the mayor of Providencia and Santa Catalina, announced in the last newsletter that the hurricane is very close to category four.
“It finds itself with maximum winds of 205 km / h, it continues moving at a speed of 17 km / h towards the west, heading towards the island of Providencia”assured the official, who asserted that the hurricane will continue to strengthen.
Hours before, the institute explained that the hurricane got stronger as it moved through the archipelago. And he added, in addition, that he was getting closer and closer to the island of Providencia and Santa Catalina, which is why both the institute and the authorities of the region asked the residents to take extreme precautionary measures.
According to the latest Ideam report, the maximum sustained winds were 155 kilometers per hour, with a minimum central pressure estimated at 960 mb. Further, the hurricane continues moving towards the archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia, Santa Catalina and their keys at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour.
According to the projections of the institute Hurricane winds with intensities greater than 178 km / h are expected on the island of Providencia, while in San Andrés hurricane vigilance has been increased with tropical storm winds between 63 and 117 kilometers per hour.
(Of your interest: Video: Passage of tropical storm Iota left tragedy in Cartagena).
They also warn of the possibility of waves with heights greater than three and four meters.
Iota will be passing closer than expected on the island of Providencia. In fact, according to recent projections The hurricane is located 175 kilometers from the island, so the hurricane warning for this area of the country is maintained, hurricane watch for San Andrés and storm warning for the keys.
(Can you read us from the App? Find the video here).
As for Santa Catalina, the authorities designed a contingency plan that prioritized care for the elderly, who were transferred yesterday to the Padre Martín Taylor Refuge.
(We recommend: A minor killed after landslide in Chocó).
Further, a curfew was decreed from Saturday afternoon and visits were made to determine which part of the community is at high risk and thus proceed to transfer it.
Finally, any maritime activity was restricted and Civil Aeronautics announced the immediate and indefinite closure of El Embrujo airport, in Providencia, that began to rule from 9 in the morning of this Sunday.
Iota’s advance
During the afternoon and night of this Sunday rains were recorded in San Andrés without major impact on citizens. However, the Police remained in the streets watching that people were in their homes, as one of the measures to avoid human losses was to decree a curfew.
“The displacement of Iota maintains bad weather conditions in various sectors of the country, so we recommend, especially, to the inhabitants of the Caribbean and the archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, and their keys to take preventive measures in the face of the probability of winds and waves with values above normal ”, said the Ideam through a statement.
(Further: The rains continue: alert in six municipalities of Cundinamarca).
Later, around 8:30 pm, Iota was 222 kilometers from San Andrés. Reason that led the authorities to call the attention of the public to take extreme security measures, all in order to avoid damage to property and preserve the physical integrity of each of the inhabitants.
The Government of San Andrés y Providencia decreed the curfew measure last Saturday as part of the strategies designed to receive the attacks of the hurricane, which in the last hours has been consolidating.
(Can read: Cartagena declares public calamity due to rains and floods).
The Departmental Risk Management Council (CDRG) announced the fitting out of two shelters south of San Andrés.
The Baptist Church Camp, in the Elsy Bar sector, and the Philip Beeckman school, sectors that are historically most affected by natural phenomena, were the places where the locations of these shelters were announcedthe.
Authorities confirmed that since last November 14, and until further notice, the use of keys, beaches and the development of nautical activities for raizales, residents and tourists is restricted.
(If you read us from the App find the video here).
The government also indicated that together with other entities of San Andrés they have been patrolling “permanently the different sectors, identifying possible risks and working hand in hand with the community to minimize the possible effects that may occur during the passage of the phenomenon “.
Last night, Yolanda González, director of Ideam, who was in San Andrés coordinating all the actions of the National Government, pointed out that the archipelago remains under surveillance due to the announcement of the hurricane.
(We suggest: They find eight people alive after landslide in Dabeiba).
For his part, the mayor of Providencia, Jorge Gari Hooker, called an extraordinary meeting with the Municipal Risk Management Council (CMGR) in which various measures were taken, including curfew, evacuation of the Santa Catalina community, especially older adults.
Rains have affected 250 municipalities in the country
Due to floods and landslides, They have issued alerts in 25 departments of the country after the heavy rains registered in recent days.
Antioquia, Chocó and Bolívar are the departments with the greatest damage according to the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD). In addition, there are 250 municipalities of 25 affected departments.
In San Andrés there could be winds of more than 100 kilometers per hour, according to the National Risk Management Unit
In the case of Antioquia, Dabeiba has been the most affected due to a torrential avenue that left an initial balance of three dead people and eight missing.
Authorities register 497 people affected, 20 injured, 67 homes destroyed and 104 damaged. Likewise, damages in three educational centers and 5.5 kilometers of road.
(You may be interested in: Emergency in Antioquia: three dead and more than 16 missing).
Another of the affected municipalities was Urrao, where the rising of the Penderisco river generated flooding and the collapse of a bridge.
In Chocó, the rains affected 10 municipalities: Carmen de Atrato, Bagadó, Lloró, Atrato, Medio Atrato, Tadó, Medio San Juan, Condoto, Nóvita and Istmina.
Rafael Bolaños, head of the Chocó Disaster Risk Management Office, reported that, at the moment, there are 6,771 affected families. He also reported the news of the death of a 14-year-old minor in Carmen de Atrato due to a landslide.
Germán Callejas, head of the Disaster Risk Management Advisory Office in Popayán, said that a dam was registered in the Pubús creek and there were damages in some homes. The situation forced the use of a backhoe to normalize the channel of the creek.
The Nariño Disaster Risk Management Directorate maintains the alert for rains and fears the overflow of the Champutis stream, in Mallama.
Further, the Caribbean coast remains on alert due to the passage of the tropical storm.
(On the rains: Photos: unfortunate consequences left by floods in Chocó).
One of the most affected areas has been Cartagena, where President Iván Duque arrived to visit some of the affected areas in the company of the mayor, William Dau, and other officials.
Storm Iota left 155,000 victims and 33 neighborhoods flooded in Cartagena. The District maintains the declaration of public calamity since last Saturday.
“The message is that we are on full alert, monitoring the behavior of this winter season, this situation has not ended”stated the President at the end of a Unified Command Post in Cartagena.
Recommendations are maintained
The Ideam makes a special call to the islanders to be attentive not only to the information issued by this institution, but also to emergency plans, evacuation routes and meeting points assigned by the authorities of each sector.
(Keep reading: Humanitarian aid arrives in Cartagena for victims of Iota).
For his part, the mayor of Providencia and Santa Catalina, Norberto Gary Hooker, assured that he continues in the crisis room to be aware of the advance of the hurricane and asked the community to take shelter in their homes or in shelters.
“Please do not be leaving your homes, please when you feel vulnerable make use of the shelters established by the municipal administration (…) let us remember that the priority here is to safeguard the lives of the community, “he said.
NATION
[ad_2]
