(Bogotá) At least 271 people have died since November 2021 in Colombia due to rains and floods, while the current rainy season is the strongest in four decades and could last until March, according to an official report published Thursday .
Rainfall has increased over the past three weeks, affecting 745,000 people in the country’s 32 departments, according to the National Disaster Risk Management Unit (UNGRD).
The rains are associated with the cyclic phenomenon of La Niña, which leads to a cooling of the Pacific Ocean. Global warming could also increase the phenomenon and make it more deadly, according to scientists.
The local press has been wondering for days about the current winter, which is particularly rainy: “A winter that overflows”, headlined the daily on Thursday. The Spectatorpointing the finger at global warming, while other media highlight deforestation which multiplies the impact of floods.
In addition to the 271 deaths recorded over the past year, including two this past weekend in Bogotá, 348 people have been injured, 6,755 houses have been destroyed, as well as hundreds of roads, bridges and drains.
The winter season in Colombia normally lasts until December, but there is a “probability of more than 58%” that it will extend into February and March, warned the director of the UNGRD, Javier Pava, during a press conference.
The government of President Gustavo Petro declared a state of “national disaster” earlier this month to mobilize more public resources to deal with the emergency.
As part of this measure, it will provide subsidies to single mothers and hopes to guarantee food for affected families.
The rains have also ruined crops, which could lead to a further rise in food prices, the UNGRD warned. This, while Colombia is facing the highest inflation for two decades (11.4% per year) and an unprecedented devaluation of its currency, the Colombian peso, against the dollar.
Corrigendum: a previous version of this text suggested that the balance sheet described only concerned the month of November 2022. Our apologies.