In Brief
CHF 100,000 has been allocated for this operation from the federation's disaster relief emergency fund (DREF)
The situation
Floods and mudslides brought on by heavy rains in the northern and central coast of Venezuela have already caused 14 deaths, according to the country's Civil Protection agency. Torrential rains have been battering the coastline since Monday, 7 February. This severe weather pattern is known as the "vaguada" and is characterized by extreme cloudiness and heavy and constant rains. According to the authorities, 18,000 persons have been affected, while 2,840 houses have been damaged and a further 363 have been destroyed. The government has declared a state of emergency in seven States in the country: Aragua, Carabobo, Falcon, Miranda, Vargas, Yaracuy and Capital Federal.
Many roads have been cut off, isolating whole towns and obliging the government to deploy Navy Coast Guard boats and helicopters to evacuate hundreds of families trapped by the landslides. Rescue efforts have been hampered by strong winds. Civil Protection rescue officials declared that as many as 6,000 vacationers and residents were trapped along the coast near Caracas in the area where residents flocked from the capital to private vacation clubs and public beaches along the Caribbean, during the recent carnival holidays.
Authorities are already clearing roads and bridges into Caracas and in other affected states. The oil company Petroleos de Venezuela has provided assistance for the operation by offering its machinery for road clearance. The government has also set up shelters for residents whose homes have been swept away and has set focal points to collect humanitarian aid from the population. The government has made available financial resources of some VEB 10,000 million (approximately USD 52 million) to respond to the emergency. These funds will be administered by local and regional authorities. The government is also studying the labour to be carried in order to avoid the outbreak of epidemics in the affected region.
Map showing the States in which an emergency has been declared by the government
Map developed by the International Federation
In the state of Miranda the overflowing of several rivers affected 30 companies in the industrial area on Thursday. Furthermore, in the state of Carabobo rains caused the overflowing of the main Moron river on Wednesday, killing nine people. Local media reported that some 120 corpses were exposed when floodwaters devastated one of the main cemeteries in Caracas. Muddy waters come from the hillsides surrounding the capital. The international airport remains operational, but there are some restrictions as regards local flights.
This region of Venezuela has a tragic history of this type of weather phenomena; five years ago tens of thousands of people were killed when major mudslides destroyed towns and villages in the state of Vargas, currently also one of the most affected States.
The Army's Cagigal observatory has forecasted rains until today, Friday 11 February. The Ministry of Education has cancelled school classes until Monday, 14 February, even in those States that are not affected by the rains. Authorities state that rains are not expected to cause a shortage of food in the affected states.
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