Colombia - Floods and landslides, update (UN OCHA, IDEAM, Copernicus EMSR) (ECHO Daily Flash of 2 March 2026)

Very heavy rainfall has affected most of Colombia (mainly northern, central and south-western departments) since the end of January, causing floods, flash floods and overflowing rivers and triggering landslides that have resulted in more casualties and severe damage. Among 20 affected departments, the most affected ones are Córdoba (the worst affected), Antioquia, Cauca, Nariño, Santander, La Guajira and Casanare.

The death toll stands at 44 fatalities. UN OCHA reports, as of 2 March, over 15 000 still evacuated people in 87 temporary shelters across the Córdoba department. In addition, UN OCHA also reports a total of more than 329 500 affected people (of whom 78 000 are affected families in the Córdoba department alone), over 4 000 destroyed houses and nearly 23 000 damaged houses throughout all the aforementioned affected departments.

The Copernicus Emergency Management Service was activated in rapid mapping mode (EMSR865) on 11 February, and five maps have been produced so far.

Over the next 96 hours, more rainfall with locally heavy rainfall is still forecast over western Colombia.