President Gustavo Petro declared a National State of Disaster due to rains in Colombia

Published at: 11/11/2024 11:13 PM

The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, declared a National State of Disaster because of the intense rains affecting the national territory and leaving more than 100,000 people affected.

On his account on the social network Instagram, he stated that “because of what is happening these days, a disaster situation has been declared throughout the country due to climate variability that generates unpredictable and unusual impacts, increasing vulnerability in the territories”.

He explained that due to the emergency, he canceled his trip to Azerbaijan to participate in COP29 and stressed that vulnerability to climate change in several Colombian territories is worsening due to deforestation and illegal economies.

He also referred to the unprecedented heavy rains and hailstorms that are occurring in the city of Bogotá and that have generated multiple emergencies, even on main access roads such as the North Highway where hundreds of vehicles were left under water last Wednesday.

Petro said that the Disaster Declaration will make it possible to mobilize the necessary resources to respond to the emergency and explained that there will be special attention in the regions of Chocó, Alta Guajira and Bogotá, where, despite the heavy rains, the inhabitants have been rationing water for months due to a shortage of liquid in the reservoirs.

This Monday, November 11, the Colombian Army delivered more than 300 humanitarian aid kits to the Colombian department of Chocó, on the Pacific coast, where more than 100,000 people were affected by the heavy rains and floods that affected 25 municipalities in this region over the weekend.

“Aid is coming to Alto Baudó. The important thing is that we can resolve lasting problems more permanently,” President Petro wrote on his account on the social network X, who shared a video of soldiers dismissing help.

The heavy rains of recent days have caused floods, overflows and landslides affecting 27 of the 32 Colombian departments and nearly 46,000 families.

The department of Chocó is the most affected so far, with more than 30,000 families affected.

The Army is also continuing its aid work in the municipality of San Vicente de Chucurí, in the department of Santander (northeast), where the flooding of the Las Cruces ravine caused damage, leaving one person dead and two missing, according to information shared by local media.