Attachments
Description of the Event
What happened, where and when?
On 1 November 2022, the national government, through Decree 2113, declared a national disaster situation, since, between 1 August 2021 and 28 October 2022, 21 of the 32 departments of the country and 390 municipalities had resorted to the declaration of public calamity, under Law 1523 of 2012, which adopts the National Policy of Disaster Risk Management and establishes the National Disaster Risk Management System (1).
In particular, the departments of Cundinamarca, La Guajira, Cauca, Valle del Cauca and Huila had registered high levels of affectation in more than 70% of their territories, due to the persistence of the rainy season by the influence of the La Niña phenomenon, which cause heavy rains and floods throughout the national territory. This situation, together with the low level of humanitarian assistance given to people in need and the difficulty of access to their territories, aggravated food insecurity and increased health diseases.
At the close of this operation, the declaration of a National Disaster in Colombia was still open; however, the effects diminished considerably, given that on 10 March 2023, through Special Communiqué 019, the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) reported that the La Niña phenomenon had come to an end. This is in addition to, in June 2023, the first rainy season of the year came to an end, and that the materialization of the El Niño phenomenon in the second half of the year was announced.
The timeline of events on which the Declaration of Emergency in Colombia was based as a consequence of the rainy season and its actions was as follows:
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1 August 2021 - La Niña phenomenon began.
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7 July 2022 – MDRCO021 DREF Operation. Floods - La Mojana.
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October 2022 - IDEAM increased the probability of La Niña phenomenon continuing between December 2022 and February 2023. IDEAM reported excessive precipitation, particularly over large parts of the Andean, Caribbean and Pacific regions in the second half of 2022.
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28 October 2022 - Director of the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management convened the National Risk Management Council to assess the emergency situation.
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1 November 2022 - The National Council for Risk Management considered that a situation of disaster exists.
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31 October 2022 - Declaration of Disaster Situation for a period of twelve months.
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10 November 2022 – Colombian Red Cross Society’s Action Plan was updated and a donation campaign was launched.
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15 November 2022 - Socialization of the Government's Strategy to address the situation.
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18 November 2022 - Prioritization of areas and lines to be funded by the Government's Care Strategy.
Sources:
(1) Decree 2113 of 2022. Presidency of the Republic. https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co/eva/gestornormativo/norma.php?i=197544