One of the proposals of the Municipal Administration of Colombia is the channeling of the Ambicá River, since in winter, it grows and takes away the bank of the access road to this town. The Government of Huila has already invited Carlos Carrillo, director of the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) to assess the situation in the region.
Likewise, the institutions invite mayors to have active Risk Management plans and councils, which must have minutes and, if necessary, issue the emergency declaration, so that they are prioritized.
Road of the municipality of Colombia
And in relation to the access road to the municipality of Colombia, which suffers damage every year due to the rising of the Ambicá River, Andrés Camilo Cabrera, Secretary of Roads and Infrastructure of Huila, pointed out. “We have professionals precisely on site, a topography commission, a structural engineer, a road professional, were brought in in order to consolidate the information and evaluate short, medium, and long-term measures.”
And he indicated that they are going to present possible solutions to the governor of Huila, Rodrigo Villalba, so that he can be the guarantor that the National Government helps provide a solution to this road problem.
And in order to avoid any calamity, the Mayor’s Office issued a decree that restricts mobility between 9:00 PM and 5:00 AM.
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Restriction on mobility and no water
Regarding the complex situation that the municipality of Colombia is experiencing, we spoke with Mayor Arbey Vargas, who pointed out, “with the two machines that the Government sent us, we managed to enable vehicular passage and issued a decree to restrict traffic, among the 9 at night and 5 in the morning, in order to avoid any calamity of a sudden flood.”
Another emergency that harms the community is not having water service, a situation that is being addressed with a tanker truck.
“We hope over the course of this week to once again enable the precious liquid to our community. And in relation to the access road, work must be done to fix it, because we have no other alternative, for this purpose we would need close to $15,000 million and a long-term solution is the channeling of the Ambicá River,” highlighted the president.
Visit of a national law enforcement official
And given the numerous emergency situations that Huila is experiencing, the Departmental Administration invited Carlos Carrillo, director of the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD), in order to have an overview of what is happening. living the region.
“One of the most special points, precisely, is the road that from the center of the region leads to the beautiful municipality of Colombia. Mitigation work is being done there, jarillons are being made, and without a doubt we must evaluate, because the repairs are taking us a year,” revealed the Secretary of Highways.
“And unfortunately, since we are experiencing the same consequences again, we want to evaluate an alternative that works much better and that hopefully will be definitive. As soon as we have the alternative, we will make it known,” the official highlighted.
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They are prioritizing emergencies
“We are dedicated 100% to emergencies. The machinery teams that were doing periodic maintenance, it was necessary to suspend those activities and what we are currently choosing is to support the municipalities that require us due to complementarity,” Andrés Camilo Cabrera revealed.
The situation is complex, since due to the rainy season, an emergency occurs weekly.
In addition, they invite mayors to have active Risk Management plans and councils, they must have minutes and, if necessary, issue the emergency declaration, in order to prioritize cases.
Risk and safety
“Everything related to risks, we are always concerned about the lives of our workers, and at the moment this happens, and the inspectors, supervisors, have the order to suspend the activities and incidentally invited the communities to understand us, and help protect them, as well as the equipment,” said the official.
And it was learned that the operators have had no complications related to actors in the armed conflict.
Rains and emergencies
Regarding the emergency situations experienced in the region, Isabel Hernández, director of the Departmental Office for Disaster Risk Management of Huila, said: “we are going through the first rainy season of the year, and the night before (Wednesday ), due to the rains, especially in the west of the Department, there was a torrential flood in the La Topa ravine in the municipality of La Plata, which generated a very large flood of the Páez River, at this time monitoring is being done by part of the Volunteer Fire Departments in the area.” Likewise, in this town there are homes threatened by landslides.
Likewise, in the municipality of Argentina, there were damages to the road that connects the Alto Pensil and San Bernardo villages, which is partially obstructed.
“It is important to clarify that fortunately we have not had any impact on the integrity of people, and without a doubt it is a fact that deserves to be highlighted. And in the Alto Chorrillo village of the municipality of El Pital, there is a single lane on the road that leads to La Plata,” said the official.
Damage caused by precipitation
Returning to the damages experienced this winter season, the Huila Risk Management Office reports that in Huila, 202 landslides, 19 gales, 20 sudden floods of water tributaries have been recorded, there are 17 homes that are high risk, 79 that have been affected, a vehicular bridge on the San Marcos sidewalk, 7 damaged pedestrian bridges and 17 aqueducts with damages.
“There are 29 municipalities that report some type of impact, mainly due to landslides, and 1,000 people affected,” the official highlighted.
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Colombia is not prepared
Already on May 2, the general director of the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD), Carlos Carrillo, recognized that the country is not fully prepared to face the La Niña phenomenon. This situation is the result of not addressing the necessary preparation measures in sufficient depth and time.
“Adequate preparation is a constant challenge, as evidenced in regions such as Nariño, where the lack of infrastructure and other factors of public knowledge have prevented the implementation of fundamental projects for risk mitigation in the department,” indicated the general director. .
The UNGRD reiterates its commitment to the continuous improvement of emergency preparedness and response in Colombia and calls on all levels of government and the community to work together to build a safer and more resilient country.
