Further flooding in Colombia

The rainy season has returned to Colombia. The floods and mudslides never really went away.

Floods return to Colombia
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Cota was one of the towns flooded when the Bogota and Chicu rivers overflowed in central Colombia [AFP]

Flooding continues to plague parts of South America after yet more heavy rain have fallen over the last few days. Colombia is struggling to deal with flashfloods and the rainy season is likely to wreak further havoc across the country.

Authorities in the Andean country said on Tuesday that 19 people have died due to floods and mudslides in the past month alone. At least 24 people have suffered injuries and four remain missing.

The towns of Cota, Chia and Soucha located in the region known as La Sabana de Bogota area in central Colombia have been worst affected in recent days.

The rivers Bogota and Chicu burst their banks for a second time this year flooding thousands of acres. Most of the banks along the Bogota River are wetlands and as such have been unable to absorb the water. Understandably, this terrain makes it extremely difficult for the emergency services to create any flood prevention structures.

The number of people affected by the rain and floods has now reached 60,000. Authorities estimate that almost 12,000 houses, 40 schools and 40 hospitals have been damaged in the country due to this year’s first rainy season.

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This rainy season officially began on 15 March and is due to run until the end of June. As such it seems inevitable that the situation will get worse before it gets better.

Source: Al Jazeera

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