Over Dozen Dead as Record Floods Batter Northern Colombia
More than 120,000 residents across six departments—Cordoba, La Guajira, Sucre, Magdalena, Choco and Antioquia—face displacement or dire impact as torrential downpours unleash deadly floods and catastrophic landslides.
The crisis represents a meteorological anomaly of staggering proportions. Carlos Carrillo, director of the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD), revealed that precipitation in Cordoba has exploded by an astonishing 1,600% above normal levels.
"These water levels had never been recorded in February, which is typically the region's driest month," Carrillo noted, reporting that floodwaters have consumed over 40,000 hectares (98,842 acres).
"There is clearly a climate crisis—an exceptional event," he said.
Infrastructure has collapsed under the assault. Cordoba's Governor Erasmo Zuleta confirmed 80% of his department lies submerged, with complete neighborhoods drowned to their rooftops and critical transportation arteries cut off entirely.
In La Guajira and Magdalena, relentless rainfall exceeding 12-hour durations has triggered stream overflow and crippled all movement.
Overcrowded emergency shelters report surging outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness, respiratory disease and influenza amid contaminated water supplies and deteriorating sanitary conditions. Critical shortages of food, bedding and hygiene products have emerged as refuge centers exceed maximum capacity.
President Gustavo Petro and his cabinet were set to hold emergency sessions in Monteria Monday, with the government weighing an economic emergency declaration to accelerate relief funding deployment.
The Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) attributes the disaster to an abnormal Caribbean cold front. With precipitation forecast to continue battering northern, central and western territories, IDEAM maintains elevated yellow and red warnings across at least 16 departments, cautioning of imminent flash flooding and additional landslide threats.
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