06:23 PM
Antioquia is preparing to see the La Niña phenomenon consolidated in the next six months with a forecast of high intensity rainfall. A projection that greatly worries the authorities of the department, since in recent days they have already had to deal with tragedies in three municipalities: Venice, Fredonia and Abriaquí, as well as more than 262 emergencies related to rain so far this year. . The problem is that there is not enough money to address possible situations in the upcoming second water season.
Landslides have been a problem in recent weeks that is repeated in different sectors of Antioquia, from the Bolombólo-Santa Fe road, with closures reported in more than 50 points, to El Chuscal-Heliconia, where havoc has also occurred due to the rains. Luis Horacio Gallón, Secretary of Physical Infrastructure of the department, pointed out that the administration’s $45,000 million budget for the intervention of the roads will not be enough and they are seeking budget transfers of $90,000 million with credit resources. Money that will be allocated for yellow machinery, attention to critical points and inspection of bridges.
How prepared are we for this situation?
With 4,451 families affected to date throughout the region, some municipalities do not have sufficient resources to care for the affected families brought by this new La Niña event. An example of this is the constant landslides that every rain causes on the Anorí-Dos Bocas road and that leaves more than 2,000 people from 19 milk and cheese producing areas and mining areas isolated. And although after these landslides the passage of a road is opened in about 48 hours, two months ago the contingency was so great that the inhabitants were cut off from the municipal capital for 8 days and the milk had to be curdled so as not to be lost.
The situation for municipalities that have tertiary roads is not easy. Running out of budgets in the face of contingencies, Anorí has $80 million to solve any calamities that may ariseand with the constant flooding of the villages, this money is running out without even reaching the six months of remaining rain, said Mayor Gustavo Silva.
At the end of 2023, of the 125 municipalities of Antioquia, 99 (79.2%) remained in budget category 6, that is, the lowest. In case of emergencies, these places depend on the departmental and national governments to undertake risk mitigation works and care for the victims.
Furthermore, despite the efforts being made today, Antioquia does not have a process for anticipating these events that is different from the training in all municipalities, including risk management plans, action frameworks from the municipalities and removal of debris from ravines. Carlos Ríos, director of the Administrative Department of Risk Management of Antioquia, Dagran, He stated that it is not possible to anticipate that something will happen in an Antioquian municipalitywhich shows that the department has a reaction mechanism for the coming months, but that preparation and prevention of possible emergencies must be reinforced.
For its part, the Aburrá Valley, which is also vulnerable to tragedies caused by the rains, is preparing for La Niña events using the Siata Early Warning System, with minute-by-minute monitoring work, that is, with immediate response. They monitor areas with a network of more than 100 multiparameter sensors that provide real-time information on the level of the Medellín River.
Besides, They installed 10 new sensors in different areas of Medellín, with greater concentration in high-risk sectors, such as communes 8, Villa Hermosa, and 3, Manrique, as well as new community early warning systemsexplained Lina Ceballos, technical coordinator of Geosciences, and Esneider Zapata, leader of the Siata Hydrology Team.
Also read: Three dead and two missing due to heavy rains in the last few hours in Antioquia
Like the storms of May, the authorities predict, for this second semester, precipitation with conditions above normal, materializing with a probability greater than 65% between July and August and with an index of 85% that it will be maintained for the last months, with December as the maximum point of rain until the end of the year. This could alter the normality of the last month of 2024, which tends to end with a dry season, Ceballos pointed out.
