The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, declared on Sunday (10) that the country is experiencing a national disaster due to climate variability that causes heavy rains in the country, during a press conference.
As a result of emergencies caused by heavy rains in the country, President Petro led the National Unified Command Post this Sunday from the Crisis Room of the National Risk Management Unit (UNGRD).
According to , the declaration of national catastrophe seeks to facilitate the mobilization of the necessary resources to care for victims across the country and mitigate the negative effects of floods and droughts.
The department of Chocó is the most affected by the rains, where more than 30 thousand families were affected and damage was reported in 27 of the region’s 31 municipalities.
The UNGRD will allocate $2.5 billion Colombian pesos (equivalent to US$570,000) through two Collective Investment Funds (FIC) to help the municipalities most affected by the floods, the president said.
To respond to this emergency in Chocó, authorities reported that the National Disaster Risk Management Unit (UNGRD) sent a technical team to the capital, Quibdó, working in coordination with the government.
Likewise, authorities reported that starting next Tuesday (12) they will begin a logistical operation to distribute the first 10,000 Emergency Humanitarian Assistance (EHA) kits in the department, in order to assist families affected by the rains.
