Severe flooding in Chocó department, Colombia
Heavy rainfalls which affected the Chocó department in Colombia over the last couple of days have left 17 municipalities flooded. Four people died in flood-related incidents while 13 000 families are in need of humanitarian aid, Colombia's National Unit for Risk Management Disaster (UNGRD) reported.
As of October 18, 2016, the affected municipalities include Medio San Juan, Sipí, Itsmina, Riosucio, Carmen del Darién, Juradó, Lloró, Bahía Solano, Atrato, Río Iró, Alto Baudó, Bajo Baudó, Quibdó, Tadó, Novita, Condoto, and Litoral. Alto Baudó, Medio San Juan, and Condoto are affected the worst.
72-hr accumulated rainfall as observed by the GPM Core Observatory. Image credit: Google/NASA/JAXA/GPM
Warning for flooding rivers in the Chocó department was issued on October 19 by El Instituto de Hidrología, Meteorología y Estudios Ambientales (IDEAM). Warnings for high river levels in the Valle del Cauca and Antioquia was issued, as well, as several rivers were at risk of overflowing.
Inundación en condoto. Miles de afectados pic.twitter.com/0dA1kEDi0J
— CRISTIAN CUESTA (@ccuesta21) October 18, 2016
Several rivers in the department have overflowed, including the San Juan, Condoto, Tamana, Bochoromá and Medio San Juan, Floodlist reports.
The Condoto River levels have been the highest ever reported, after a 10-hour long rainfall on October 18, according to Luz Marina Agualimpia Benitez, the mayor of Condoto.
Delicada situación por desbordamiento del Río Condoto,en el Chocó, Inundación en Tado, Novita y Condoto autoridades atienden emergencia pic.twitter.com/Ogmz0hWdam
— De Borondo Cali (@Dborondo) October 18, 2016
Inundación en Tado, Novita y Condoto en el Chocó,autoridades atienden emergencia pic.twitter.com/DgjpE2QhAA
— alvaro miguel mina (@minacaracol) October 18, 2016
115 tons of emergency assistance has been provided by the UNGRD, and the civil protection and military teams are working on repairing and cleaning the damage.
Featured image: Flooding in the Chocó department, Colombia, October 18, 2016. Image credit: @minacaracol
Commenting rules and guidelines
We value the thoughts and opinions of our readers and welcome healthy discussions on our website. In order to maintain a respectful and positive community, we ask that all commenters follow these rules.