Iván Duque asks local authorities to activate contingency plans in the face of torrential rains

Several municipalities in Colombia entered an emergency due to the heavy rains that have been registered in the last hours. According to the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies -Ideam-, the regions of Arauca, Casanare and Norte de Santander, as well as some of the Caribbean they are on high alert due to the passage of a tropical wave that will keep the rains during November.

The most critical cases have been registered in the municipality of Dabeiba, Antioquia, where an avalanche of land left three dead and at least 12 missing. Also in the city of Cartagena the situation is dramatic, this Saturday several areas such as Villa Rosa, Olaya Herrera (Zarabanda), Pasacaballos (Mother Herlinda) and the Olaya neighborhood woke up underwater.

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President Ivan duque He reported through his Twitter account about the situation in the country due to the rains. The president expressed his solidarity with the victims and families of people killed by landslides in Dabeiba and ordered the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management to send a support and rescue team to attend emergencies and assess the effects.

Front of emergency situation in the Caribbean, Chocó, Antioquia, Santanderes and other regions, the head of state reported that they maintain monitoring to evaluate actions.

By last, Duque asked the local authorities to activate their contingency plans to face the rain phenomenon that will last throughout this month.

Since September, the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management -UNGRD- made a call for all entities, mayors, governorships and communities to start activating their contingency plans for the second rainy season.

Likewise, it gave the guidelines for the entire national territory: Governors, Mayors, Technical and Operational Entities, Sectors, Municipal and Departmental Councils for Disaster Risk Management and other members of the SNGRD, in order to generate the entire process of preparation and enlistment in heavy rain.

“In the country there may be floods, torrential avenues, mass movements, gales, electrical storms and hailstorms. In that order of ideas, it is necessary for all sectors to prepare because they could be exposed by possible effects on the agricultural sector, on land road infrastructure, in terms of housing, water and sanitation, education, health, tourism and trade”, Assured at the time Eduardo José González Angulo, Director of the UNGRD.

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The UNGRD said that it was attentive and prepared 214,000 members of the National Fire Department, Colombian Civil Defense, Colombian Red Cross, Colombian Air Force, Navy, Army and National Police, Dimar, Ideam, Colombian Geological Service and the Departmental and Municipal Risk Management Councils, to face this rainy season.

UNGRD Recommendations

– Implement tools associated with Early Warning Systems (monitoring and alarm equipment) as well as mechanisms for Community alert in watershed areas susceptible to the formation of torrential floods or sudden increases, in order to generate response actions in the event of the imminence or occurrence of an event of this type.

– Review, update and socialize the sectoral Contingency Plans planned for the season.

– Make visits to areas of high vulnerability and socialize with the communities the danger signs, protection measures and the contact details of the emergency offices that operate 24 hours.

– Stimulate the consolidation of family emergency plans so that all family members know the measures to be taken and actions to be carried out in a timely manner in any situation that may arise.

– Carry out cleaning campaigns for canals or rivers that cross populated areas, likewise in the homes verify the state of the gutters, perform the required cleaning, solid waste collection and reinforcement of roofs, so that they can withstand the rains and strong winds .

– The rains can also generate an increase in respiratory diseases, so it is important to maintain the care recommendations provided by the Ministry of Health and more so in the face of current conditions due to the Covid pandemic19.