Natural Disasters Report I Semester 2009 Colombia January ­ June 2009 1. Key highlights Flooding, landslides, avalanches and strong winds continued to be the natural disaster events affecting most people. During the first rainy season, lasting from March through May, 51 persons died, 128,729 persons (26,568 families) were affected, 1,119 houses were destroyed and 22,795 houses damaged. Lack of access in many parts of the country as landslides and flooding blocked roads, leaving many towns isolated. Flooding in southwestern Colombia led to devastating impacts on persons, houses, crops and infrastructure. Galeras volcano has been active and the alert levels have varied from yellow, orange to red. The most serious events occurred on 7 and 8 June, when 8,500 persons were ordered to evacuate due to explosive eruptions. Number of affected persons ‐ I Semester 2009. Total figures 1 January ‐ 30 June 2009 Source: SIGPAD 1 2. General situation Flooding, landslides, avalanches and strong winds continued to be natural events affecting large parts of Colombia during the first semester. Reports indicate that 199 persons died or went missing, 311,189 persons (63,951 families) were affected, 2,813 houses were destroyed and 41,359 houses were damaged. According to the Dirección de Gestión del Riesgo para la Prevención y Atención de Desastres (DGR) 1, roads, education and community centers were also hit by natural hazards. As the figure below shows, 72% of the affected population was hit by flooding, while strong winds, landslides and avalanches account for 28% of the events impacting the population. Affected population according to event 1. semester 2009 2% 14% 12% 72% Avalanche Landslide Flooding Strong winds Source: SIGPAD. The first rainy season takes place in Colombia over a three month period, starting on 1 March. This year’s rainy season affected rural as well as urban areas. DGR reported 51 casualties, 4 missing, and 128,729 persons affected (26,568 families), as well as 1,119 houses destroyed and 22,795 damaged. Chocó, Antioquia, Valle del Cauca, Cundinamarca and Cauca were the departments hardest hit with 55% (70,976 persons) of the total affected population. In total, 246 municipalities in 27 departments were affected by the emergencies. Colombian Red Cross also reported that the centre of the coffee‐growing zone, including Risaralda and Quindío Departments, were heavily hit2. Tumaco Municipality, February 2009 The city of Bogotá, April 2009 Source: http://www.ipitimes.com Source: http://www.radiosantafe.com Flooding of the Mira River in Nariño Department in south‐western Colombia was caused by heavy rainfall in the beginning of the year. This led the river to reach 20 meters above its normal level, affecting people, houses, agricultural crop, infrastructure and buildings. The Galeras volcano in Nariño Department has been active this year and the alert level varied between level yellow, orange and red. The most serious incidents occurred on 7 and 8 June when explosive eruptions led the Government to order the evacuation 1 Directorate for risk management, and prevention and attention to disaster. 2 Ibid. 2 of 8,500 persons (INGEOMINAS)3. Emergency shelters were opened as people were encouraged to evacuate their homes. The volcano is located close to populated areas and important agricultural areas. No persons were reported dead or missing. At the time this report was finalized, the alert level has been adjusted to yellow. Since the volcano is considered a potential threat, monitoring and emergency preparedness has been increased by the Sistema Nacional para la Prevención y Atención de Desastres (SNPAD)4. See detailed information about the volcanic activity in the report. Galeras volcano, February 2009 – the city of Pasto in front Galeras volcano 2009 5 Source:http://apelosdoceu.com Source: http://webmira.netfirms.com 3. Departments and municipalities ­ situation, coordination and humanitarian response Persons affected by natural disasters according to department (1 January ‐ 30 June 2009) 70.000 61.666 60.000 55.912 50.000 40.000 37.778 30.000 28.306 20.000 16.695 13.369 12.948 12.369 10.669 9.940 8.770 10.000 8.173 5.649 3.500 3.425 2.901 2.582 2.487 2.454 2.416 2.100 1.511 1.480 1.301 754 750 0 117 DEL DE META HUILA CESAR SUCRE CAUCA CALDAS CHOCO TOLIMA ARAUCA BOYACA NARIÑO CAUCA GUAJIRA BOLIVAR QUINDIO CAQUETA VALLE CORDOBA CASANARE RISARALDA NORTE ATLANTICO AMAZONAS ANTIOQUIA PUTUMAYO SANTANDER SANTANDER MAGDALENA CUNDINAMARCA Affected persons 1.semester 2009 NORTH‐EAST REGION (Arauca, Boyacá, Casanare, Norte de Santander, Santander) The region was mostly affected by heavy rainfall during the first three months of the semester. According to DGR, the total figures for the semester show that 14,291 families were affected, 643 houses were destroyed and 472 houses were damaged. Arauca Department 3 Instituto Colombiano de Geología y Minería. 4 The national system for prevention and attention to disasters. 5 Source: http://apelosdoceu.com/blog/wp‐content/uploads/2009/02/galeras‐colombia‐vulcao‐blog‐300x191.jpg. 3 In May, the road linking the municipalities of Arauca with Saravena was destroyed due to flooding along the Arauca River. Large parts of the road in the Trapiche sector were washed away when the river flowed over its banks. Boyacá Department The first rainy season destroyed the road connecting the Municipality of Soacha (Norte de Boyacá) with Meta Department. Casanare Department On 21 May, six rural towns in the Municipality of Pore in the north of the department were flooded due to heavy rains. Reports indicated that there were 2,080 persons (419 families) affected and 419 houses damaged. Roads in nearby municipalities were also affected. CREDPAD6 declared an orange alert level for the entire department. Norte de Santander Department Several roads in the department were affected by landslides. Traffic was occasionally interrupted for longer time periods, leading to blocked roads and isolated communities. Due to heavy rains, the road connecting the Municipality of Ocaña with Cúcuta, in the sector of La San Juana, was affected by 14 landslides. Nearly 6,000 families were affected by landslides in the area known as “Alto de los Compadres”, along the road connecting Cúcuta with the Municipality of Santiago. On 3 April, a total of 220 persons (59 families), including 96 children, were affected by a landslide in the Tucunaré sector in the neighborhood of Juan Atalaya in Cúcuta. On 5 June, 250 persons (50 families) in the town of Tropezón in La Esperanza Municipality were affected by strong winds as 4 houses were destroyed and 46 houses were damaged. Strong winds also affected the municipalities of El Tarra and Tibú, blocking the road connecting them. According to the Regional Director of CREPAD, the affected persons were given temporary shelter while their houses were being repaired. Santander Department Strong rains lead to flooding in the sectors of Álvarez, Morrorrico, Llanogrande, Galán and Zarabanda. Flooding also affected Bucaramanga, where strong winds led to blocked roads and left 30% of the city without energy. Several roads were affected by heavy rains, amongst others the roads connecting Bucaramanga to the airport and the transport terminal. Magdalena Medio region Due to heavy rainfall during the second rainy season of 2008, the region experienced several landslides and flooding in the beginning of 2009, destroying 600 houses, 13 water systems and 3 bridges. According to the CREPAD (Santander Department), the situation in the rural zones of San Vincente Chucurí reached a critical level. Heavy rains caused flooding along the creeks Cantarranas and Las Crueces, displacing 30 families. Other affected municipalities included Barrancabermeja, San Benito, Ocamonte, Molagavita, Sabana de Torres and Galán. In Puerto Wilches Municipality (Santander Department), more than 1,000 hectares of crops: banana, yucca, citrus fruits and palm oil were destroyed by flooding. Coordination and humanitarian response Arauca Department As a response to the destruction of the road linking the municipalities of Arauca with Saravena caused by the overflow of the Arauca River, the municipial administration of Arauquita started the construction of an alternative route on 20 June: Araquita‐La Unión‐La Chigüira‐Brasilia‐San Rafael‐San Lorenzo‐Saravena. This route is 23 km long and will take an hour longer than the original route to drive. Bolivar Department Through CORMAGDALENA7, a package of protection measures with a total value of COP$9,300 million were approved for the municipalities located along the Magdalena River in Bolivar Department. The majority of the projects were reconstruction projects of dykes and destroyed infrastructure, together with financing for the completion of water protection walls in 12 riverside municipalities, as well as protection measures to secure land from flooding and erosion. Bolivar, Cesar and Santander Departments 6 Comité Regional de Prevención y Atención de Desastres (CREPAD). 7 Corporación Autónoma Regional del Río Grande de la Magdalena (Cormagdalena). 4 More than 14,000 families affected by the second rainy season of 2008 received humanitarian assistance from Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales (DIAN)8. The donations contained items of basic necessity: clothes, shoes, sheets etc. The donation had a total value of COP$900 million. Norte de Santander The majority of the families, who were re‐located in provisional shelters due to the landslides in Tucurnaré in Cúcuta on 3 April, could move into houses rented by the municipal administration on 4 April. A number of families did not get this opportunity and continued to live in neighbourhoods running a great risk of being affected by new landslides. The national government offered plans for pre‐fabricated houses to the Mayor´s Office in Cúcuta, funding for houses (subsidies for the repair of houses) and to help with renting of houses to affected families.