Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Wednesday (13) that he estimates that more than US$300 million will be needed for initial aid to deal with the emergency caused by heavy rains in the northwest of the country.
“We are at the forefront of , because they still don’t stop,” he said.
Heavy rains in the Chocó region caused serious flooding that affected thousands of families and caused the destruction of homes and infrastructure in several municipalities.
The department’s governor, Nubia Carolina Córdoba, lamented the situation. “Today the main request is that we be more agile in our attention, there are people who are hungry, there are people who are cold and this hurts us a lot. It hurts us due to the impotence of knowing that we cannot reach certain areas at the speed we have to do, it is very painful for us”, she stated.
The floods also left the streets of the capital Bogotá submerged on Tuesday (12). Video obtained by Reuters showed road barriers being removed from a flooded street lined with shops in Bogota as vehicles moved slowly through flood water.
Torrential rains on the Pacific coast and Andean regions of Colombia have displaced more than 90,000 people and flooded communities, local media reported.
The extreme weather triggered widespread flooding and landslides across the country, leaving Colombia’s first left-wing leader
