The army delivered around twelve tons of humanitarian aid to areas affected by storm Rafael – credit National Army
What began as a tropical storm in the Caribbean Sea near the Colombian coast moved through the Antilles until it became a level three tornado that hit the island of Cuba and continued its course towards the Yucatan Peninsula and then towards the Gulf. from Mexico.
Although in Colombia the current Hurricane Rafael did not generate the havoc that it did in the Caribbean country, its presence generated climatic adversities in the Caribbean basin. Several departments such as La Guajira, Cesar, Magdalena, Atlántico, Bolívar, Sucre and Córdoba suffered intense rains that even caused flooding.
Likewise, it generated complications in the departments of Chocó and Antioquia, where there was no shortage of rainfall. Ideam had warned that these areas of the country would have to face rain due to the Rafael phenomenon.
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The authorities adapted streets affected by storm Rafael – credit National Army
In La Guajira there were floods due to this natural phenomenon and President Gustavo Petro did not hesitate to assure that the respective actions would be taken due to the active tropical depression, as required by the law on natural disasters throughout the department.
Cities like Cartagena were also affected by the rains. Several streets of Cwalled city They filled with water and when the emergency passedthe authorities carried out debris and mud removal in the area to restore normality.
In Santamarta there were also people affected by the then tropical storm. According to The Heraldaround 12,000 people were affected between the departments of Bolívar and Magdalena. This medium indicated that 5,000 of the victims were residents of Santa Marta and the municipality of Plato, who were affected by the flooding of streams and ravines.
The rains in Cartagena forced the authorities to generate alerts to prevent tragedies – credit Colombia Oscura
For this reason, the Government of Magdalena and the National Army delivered humanitarian aid to these people: non-perishable food, water and hygiene kits were delivered to the victims. It should be noted that there was the presence of yellow machinery to collect debris on the affected roads and that prevented the activities of the residents.
According to the statement delivered by the authorities, the actions will continue “with the objective of mitigating the most pressing needs of the communities that require it.”
The Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (Ideam) warned that the rains will continue in Colombia. As indicated in the report of October 28, 2024, the La Niña phenomenon will last until February 2025.
Taking into account that the department known as the Head of Colombia was extremely affected by the passage of tropical storm Rafael, the director of the Ungrd, Carlos Carrillo, was there in order to establish the route of care and action to reduce the impact it generated on the affected communities. According to what could be read in the published report, the assessment of the situation would be carried out by air.
The intense rains caused by the passage of tropical storm Rafael have left more than 70 families affected in La Alta Guajira – credit @jaiaguilar/X
Carrillo himself assured that the delivery of aid was guaranteed: “The first thing we will do is provide technical support to guarantee the delivery of aid.” However, he also stated that the department “needs fundamental solutions, and much of what we can do depends on budget availability.”
For this reason, the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management requested more money to serve the affected populations. This is what the director of this entity said: “We have requested a budget addition of $700 billion to the Ministry of Finance, and we need it to be able to serve the populations affected by the intense rains.”
Finally, the governor of La Guajira, Jairo Aguilar Deluque, assured that the aid is necessary, since, “the roadmap that we defined requires financing; “We need yellow machinery, humanitarian assistance and roads.”
