Colombia on Red Alert After Heavy Rains

Heavy rains in Colombia resulting from phenomenon ‘la niña’ –which started in 2010 [es] but continued in 2011 beginning in March– have put the country on red alert. Residents of 28 departments are suffering extreme hardship: floods [es], landslides and sudden increase in rivers and streams have left more than three million five hundred thousand victims.

Opinions and reports on the matter are widespread [es] on the Internet. The blog Noticias del Clima (Weather News) refers to the preventive red alert [es], which forced the Risk Management Division of the Ministry of Interior and Justice to declare a red alert this second winter season.

From Cali, in his blog Los vainazos de Juankmu, Juankmu laments the difficult situation [es] that is taking place since 2010:

Como siempre, la gente de este país sigue creyendo que el problema de los damnificados se resuelve solamente mandándoles comida y agua. P**O PAÍS DEL INFIERNO!. Es increíble que haya gente que desde diciembre vive en carpas y arrinconados en polideportivos y escuelas, y hoy estén pasando por lo mismo. ¿Qué diablos hicieron los gobernantes en todo este tiempo?

As always, the people of this country still believe that the victim's problems are solved by only sending food and water. COUNTRY FROM  FU***NG HELL!. It is incredible that people since December are living in tents and cornered in sports centers and schools, and today they are experiencing the same thing. What the hell did the authorities do in all this time?

From Ibagué, Carlos Arturo Gamboa, in his blog Tutor Virtual [es], questions former President of Colombia Álvaro Uribe and involves him in this tragic season:

¿Para qué le sirve, al desmantelado general Uribe Vélez, haber invertido la mayor parte del presupuesto nacional en un programa de seguridad democrática durante diez años,  hoy cuando el país naufraga en la desidia? Hubiese sido mejor construir un Plan Nacional de Desarrollo pensando en las prioridades de la gran población expuesta a estas catástrofes, no porque ellos lo deseen, si no que por falta de vivienda se ven abocados a construir sus ranchos en los desfiladeros, en las orillas de las quebradas o a la sombra de montañas inestables.

What good has it done to the dismantled General Uribe Vélez, investing most of the national budget in a democratic security program for ten years when today the country sinks into apathy? It would have been better to build a National Development Plan considering the priorities of the large population exposed to these disasters, not because they want it, but because of homelessness they are forced to build their huts on cliffs, on the banks of streams or in the shadow of unstable mountains.

In Facebook, users have created [es] multiple accounts [es] where different people are involved in a solidarity campaign. But the campaign also has its own official website called Colombia Humanitaria [es] (Humanitarian Colombia), which works with the Presidency of the Republic of Colombia, and also has its own Twitter account [es]. This site has been invaded with posts with different opinions, among which is the concern of Alejandro Ayure (@Alejoayure) in response to a tweet by Dinero magazine (@RevistaDinero):

Ojalá! Hoy estuvimos en Utica, y no a ido ningún representante de Colombia Humanitaria!!… ¿Dónde están? ¡Que aparezcan!

Hopefully! Today we went to Utica, no representatives of Colombia Humanitaria have been there!!… Where are they? They need to go there!

Luis Armando Herrera (@luisarmandohb) questioned [es] how Colombia Humanitaria's funds were being handled:

En términos castizos, se están robando los recursos de Colombia Humanitaria

Speaking plainly, they are stealing the resources of Colombia Humanitaria

Flood victims in makeshift shelter in Colombia, Sabaneta, Antioquia. Image: Lully

Other Twitter users express concern about the serious difficulties in different regions. Carlos Rodríguez Arana (@CarlyRodriguezA) says [es]:

Muy preocupado con la ola invernal!!! El Rio magdalena en Magangué esta subiendo 10 cm diarios. Colombia necesita de todos!!! Yo ♥ Colombia

Concerned about the cold wave! The Magdalena River in Magangué is rising 10 cm per day. Colombia needs everyone!!! I ♥ Colombia

Javier Contreras (@jcontrerasa) describes the situation with this sentence [es]:

Viendo las imágenes de la situación en el país, lo que está viviendo Colombia no es una ola invernal sino una ola infernal…

Looking at the images showing the country's situation, what Colombia is experiencing is not a winter wave but a wave from hell…

Darwin José Cuesta (@pecesito_03) calls for help in his tweet [es]:

Critica la situación por ola invernal en Colombia, y las ayudas nada que llegan en la mayoría de zonas afectadas del país.

The situation caused by the cold wave in Colombia is critical, and aid is not arriving to most affected areas of the country

Finally, José Antonio Daza (@joseplazagarcia) warns [es]:

Las Inundaciones y derrumbes por El Invierno en Colombia eran Tragedias Anunciadas…Y para Variar no se hizo nada para prevenirlas…

Flooding and landslides because of the winter in Colombia were announced tragedies … And as usual nothing was done to prevent them…
(Photo taken in a neighborhood of the upper area of ​​the district north-east of Medellín, Antioquia. A house is endangered by a landslide. Image: Lully)

Photo taken in a neighborhood of the upper area of the north-east district of Medellín, Antioquia. A house in danger by a landslide. Image: Lully

2 comments

  • Carmen Restrepo

    Lo que se dice en Colombia es la fata de liderazgo para haber afrontado esta època que tampoco es que sea muy lluviosa, lo qu sucede es que no invierten en estructuras y el dinero se lo gastan gobiernos como el e Alvaro Uribe y Juan Manuel Santos, en perseguir a los que estan con otros ideales o en sindicatos laborales , pero dejan los delincuentes robando en las calles y la gente aguantando hmbre y frio por no tener un techo.

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