Colombia – Hundreds Displaced by Floods in Chocó Department

by in Americas, News

Over 500 people from around 150 families were displaced from their homes after flooding in Colombia‘s Choco Department.

Floods Bojayá, Choco, Colombia, April 2020. Photo: FLM Colombia

Flooding struck in Bojayá on 01 April after heavy rain caused the Bojayá river to break its banks. The mayor of Bojayá, Edilfredo Machado, said that 70 families from the township of Pogué and 80 families from the indigenous community of Santa Lucía left their homes because of the floods. Flooding has caused damage to crops and farmland, as well as damage to homes and material possessions such as mattresses. No injuries or fatalities were reported.

Elsewhere in the country, Colombia’s meteorological agency Instituto de Hidrología, Meteorología y Estudios Ambientales de Colombia (IDEAM) reports there was an increase in rainfall in the central departments of Boyacá and Casanare during the start of of April, increasing alerts for landslides in mountain areas and the probability of sudden increases in the rivers in the area.

Heavy rain was also reported in parts of the south on 02 April, with some areas recording 60 to 100 mm in just 6 hours.

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