Source: AFP
The Berio family moves around their house on raised boards, on which their beds and furniture have been raised, to avoid the murky, knee-deep water that has invaded their modest brick home.
For the fourth consecutive year, Colombia’s northern La Mojana region has flooded, drowning crops and livestock in a worsening crisis exacerbated by deforestation and mining.
In addition, a sandbag levee meant to protect the 500,000 residents of the vast plains, surrounding wetlands and swamps, collapsed on May 6, sparking a major corruption scandal surrounding flawed repair efforts after an earlier breach.
That led to water from the polluted Cauca River flooding pastures and rice fields, affecting about 32,000 people, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
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“Everything drowned,” laments Rosiris Berrio, who lives with her partner and two young children in the village of La Sierpe.
The few remaining animals balance on planks or stand with their feet in the water. “They’re dying. This water is very infectious,” Berrio said.
Source: AFP
At home, they negotiate the plank system. “We’re struggling, we’re scratching our heads. However, we have to continue our daily activities,” he said, adding that he had received no help from the state.
In other parts of the village, residents travel by canoe from one house to another. The luckier households, where the water has receded, have to contend with mud.
“Very bad situation”
Concerned residents say flooding has become more frequent and more intense.
“We have been flooded for four years in a row. Financially, we are in a very bad situation. We used to cultivate this land, we lived happily,” said Jose Ruendes, a 59-year-old farmer standing with water up to his waist. .
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He has used wood to build a makeshift ledge to keep his bike, bed and electrical appliances above the water.
Official figures show the area flooded more than 300 times between 1998 and 2020.
Environment Minister Susana Muhamad has warned that deforestation is filling rivers with sediment, making them more likely to overflow.
Carlos Carrillo, director of the state’s National Unit for the Management of Risks and Disasters (UNGRD) said mining is another culprit.
Source: AFP
Illegal mining operations use dredging to search for gold in rivers, which “creates very complex changes in the dynamics of the river”, which is increasingly shallow, Carrillo told AFP.
These illegal mines have also contaminated the river’s waters with mercury, authorities say.
President Gustavo Petro argues that rebuilding the dam is not a long-term solution. He wants residents relocated to plots bought by the government on higher ground.
“But where does one go? It’s not easy starting over, looking for a job,” Berrio said.
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Source: AFP
In a nearby camp of plastic tents, Ana Dolores Valerio is ready to move “elsewhere.” She says this is the fifth time in the past two decades that floodwaters have forced her to camp on the side of the road.
With 13 children and grandchildren to look after, she longs for “dry land so she can work”.
‘Inhumane’
Local leaders are calling for immediate action to address what the United Nations calls a “serious humanitarian crisis”.
“Some families only eat one meal a day, it’s inhumane,” complains Nestor Ortiz, president of the village of La Sierpita, one of the most affected.
The village’s only school is closed and its aqueducts collapsed, causing sewage to spill into the houses.
Meanwhile, the state disaster agency is under investigation for corruption related to the construction of the embankment, which was only repaired in February after an earlier collapse.
Source: AFP
Carillo, who took over the director’s role this year after allegations forced his predecessor’s departure, admits the $34 million rebuild is not moving as quickly as it should.
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“The contractor doesn’t seem to be going all out to close the gap” of about 70 meters, he said.
Meanwhile, distant thunder warns the residents of La Mojana that the rainy season is just beginning.
“We already know what’s coming,” says Cristo Sanchez, an elderly man whose house stands out on a patch of dry land surrounded by water.
Source: AFP