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In the municipality of Lloró, the overflow of the Atrato and Andagueda rivers left a hanging bridge destroyed, the access road affected and the town of Boraudo completely flooded. Families expect concrete actions from the State.
Eight days after the intense day of rains that left very serious damages in Chocó, in the municipality of Lloró the emergency continues. The rising of the Atrato and Andagueda rivers, which join in this sector, generated floods that put the communities at risk.
The phenomenon of the girl child has affected 61,723 families in Colombia, damaging more than 22,000 homes in 308 municipalities in 25 departments. Floods, mass movements and gales with heavy rains have been the constant in the last week, not counting the tragedy caused in San Andrés by Hurricane Iota.
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In Lloró, Chocó, the name of the municipality seems designed for the occasion. There are at least 715 families affected. According to the mayor of the municipality, Moisés Córdoba, there are almost 5,000 people affected, although according to Risk Management it would be 2,800. At the municipal seat, the suspension bridge collapsed due to the flooding of the Andagueda River. The access road to the municipality was affected and the aqueduct is not in operation due to damage to the dam. At the moment, they are taking tank cars to distribute water and Invías specialists assess the situation of the bridge, while boats transport people and belongings from one side to the other.
The streets of Boraudo, a district of Lloró, are desolate, flooded and covered with mud, as described by Yadira Renteria, one of its inhabitants. “When we found out, the river was already on the second floor, we didn’t have time for anything, everything got wet, we lost everything and many houses fell,” he said. He says that some families are in the shelter because the water washed away their houses, others are trying to rebuild them. However, the community requests relocation, because they are tired of living in fear of a tragedy.
In Boraudo there are 300 houses, of which 117 were affected, according to the mayor. The church, the longhouse, the school and the health center were also flooded. According to the Risk Management report, there are about 273 families affected in the district, a total of 300 when adding those of Peñaloza and Guatseruma, villages settled along the Atrato River. The village has a shelter built in wood, although it is a large room, the day of the emergency it could not protect all those affected. Currently 17 families remain there.
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Alexánder Guerrero, parish priest of Lloró, told this newspaper that the town of Boraudo is flooded regularly, so the inhabitants, who are in precarious conditions, decided to build a second floor for their wooden houses, so they upload their belongings when there are heavy rains and the river grows, but this time the emergency did not give them truce. “I would dare to say that, in the two years that I have been, the community floods at least once a month,” he said.
Renteria affirmed that seven years ago there was a generalized flood, although less serious than that of this November 14, since then they have been asking the Government for relocation. “They told us yes, but they still haven’t given us an answer. We no longer want to continue living with this distress of the river and the fear that our children will drown. We lost everything, but what we ask the Government is to relocate us, “said Maryuris Ibargüen, a resident of Peñaloza, a village in the municipality of Lloró. He says he is grateful for the help they have received, such as clothing and food, but sleeping is an odyssey. She is sleeping on makeshift mats because her mattresses and appliances got wet.
At dawn on Saturday, Ibargüen saw how his relatives, also neighbors, raised their belongings to the second floor to avoid flooding. Since his house is in a high place, he thought that nothing serious would happen. When the water was pouring through the wooden walls, she asked her 3, 7 and 14-year-old daughters to give her space on the beds to set up things. “I thought it wouldn’t be a bigger thing, from one moment to another the water would rise higher and higher. We took out the washing machine, but when we returned the water had already submerged all my belongings and my girls were totally wet with mud, in their innocence they bathed excited because the river had never been so high ”, recalled Maryuris.
At 9:00 in the morning there were only ruins left, the river was carrying animals, crops and belongings; Ibargüen’s house was moving from one place to another and the 86-year-old grandfather’s store was submerged. “If we had had timely help we would not be so affected,” he said. He says that later he heard his cousin shout the news: “The bridge fell, he cried” and now he wonders when the repair will begin, although they have already received a visit from the governor, the vice president and the first lady.
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According to Rafael Bolaños, coordinator of Risk Management in Chocó, in the municipal and departmental Development Plan the relocation of Boraudo is projected; now they will seek to do so in the shortest time possible with the support of the national government. This plan contemplates the disposal of a lot that the municipal mayor’s office already has. “The Government is committed to this issue, we will hold a joint table with the Government to make a work plan, define which works are the priority and seek funding,” said Mayor Córdoba.
From the Mayor’s Office they ask the Government for immediate assistance with blankets, food and kitchen implements, for Boraudo the mayor sees no other alternative than the relocation of the population. Lloró also needs the reconstruction of the bridge, the paving of 3.5 kilometers of the road that is needed, the construction of a dock that is already in tender and at least one hospital. “In this emergency we had nowhere to take the sick or injured,” said the mayor, because for now they only have a health center in the municipal seat and a health post in Boraudo.
This municipality, of almost 11,000 inhabitants, does not even have a first-rate hospital and is part of the department with the highest poverty rate (45.1%), according to data from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE). The population denounces that for years it has suffered floods and has asked the State for attention; Now that many have lost their homes and belongings, they ask for an effective response to avoid a greater tragedy.
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