The governor of Tolima announced measures after presiding over the most recent Departmental Risk Management Council that was declared in permanent session.
There are already two municipalities with a red alert, five with an orange alert and nine localities with a declaration of public calamity.
Emergency care
The emergency due to the first rainy season of 2024 in Tolima leaves more than 4,000 families affected; two municipalities with red alert, five municipalities with orange alert and nine localities with a declaration of public calamity. In addition, loss of banking and obstruction in the road network, loss of crops and effects on the agricultural sector.
On red alert there are the municipalities of Honda and Anzoátegui; on orange alert Falan, Murillo, Coello, Alpujarra and Ambalema; with of declaration of public calamity There are the towns of Natagaima, Venadillo, Cajamarca, Rovira, El Guamo, San Luis, Ortega, Rioblanco and Palocabildo.
To face emergencies, Governor Adriana Magali Matiz announced a series of measures at the end of the recent Departmental Risk Management Council, where authorities, secretaries and directors of the Sectional Administration, relief agencies, institutions, mayors and secretaries also participated.
“Hence, clear and precise measures have been taken in this Risk Management Council. Today we are serving 13 municipalities with yellow machinery kits, which is what the different mayors have requested the most from us.; but we are also going to serve 10 more municipalities and three municipalities with which we are going to sign agreements for the supply of fuel; that is to say, We are going to have a total of 26 municipalities served directly by the Government of Tolima; not only with the machinery but also with humanitarian aid that the mayors of the different municipalities requested of us today.”announced the president.
Adriana Matiz also announced specific measures for Ibagué, agreed with the director of the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Tolima Cortolima, Olga Lucía Alfonso, who also participated and made announcements at the end of the day: “For the exclusive case of the city of Ibagué we are going to continue working with Cortolima, with Dr. Olga Lucía Alfonso, in the attention of seven critical points that we have along the Combeima canyon. At this moment we are working at the La Invasión point, but we are going to take a caterpillar backhoe to other points that are needing and requiring that they be entered to carry out mitigation works.”
Then the Tolima president continued saying: “We made the decision to call public service companies like Celsia with whom they will give immediate attention to the requirements made by the different mayors of the municipalities of the department, since we have quite a few problems with this company for energy service. Also a very important call that we make to the different irrigation districts with whom we want to hold a meeting this week also for the management of floodgates. “which are the responsibility of these districts so that they do not cause any kind of emergency or community risks.”
Adriana Matiz recognized that the machinery that the Department is in charge of is insufficient to deal with all emergencies, which is why she reiterated the request and the call to the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management UNGRD to promptly assign yellow machinery.
“I want to tell you that on May 17 we will have the presence and visit of the UNGRD director in this Department. and we hope, not only, that it will help us with the issue of yellow machinery and with humanitarian aid, but that it will also address some specific cases of municipalities that already have projects established and made viable in that Risk Unit to be able to attend to and prevent these emergencies that “they are presenting themselves to us”announced the head of the Sectional Administration.
