- Colombia declares 30-day state of emergency over deadly floods
- At least 18 people confirmed dead after death toll revised and over 150,000 residents affected in hard-hit Cordoba department
- President Petro is thereby empowered to allocate funds without congressional approval
Colombia has declared a state of emergency following devastating floods that have killed at least 18 people and displaced thousands of families across the country’s northern cattle belt.
The emergency declaration, announced on Wednesday, February 11, comes after days of intense and unseasonal rainfall that caused rivers and a dam to overflow, submerging entire communities.
The department of Cordoba is among the worst-hit areas, with more than 150,000 residents affected.
Water inundated homes and farmlands, destroying more than 4,300 houses and vast swathes of land used for grazing and agriculture, according to authorities.
The impact has also dealt a heavy blow to the livestock sector, with at least 1,200 cattle reported dead by the cattle ranchers’ association.
Earlier reports from Colombia’s disaster relief agency had put the nationwide death toll at 22 as of February 9, but the figure was later revised down to 18.
Images from Monteria, one of the affected cities, showed residents wading through flooded streets carrying their belongings as emergency teams worked to assist those stranded by rising waters.
The emergency decree allows Colombian President Gustavo Petro to take special measures to address the crisis for 30 days, including allocating resources to impacted departments without congressional approval.
Authorities continue to assess the damage as relief efforts intensify in the affected regions.