colombian floods cause widespread destruction
Flooding around the Colombia-Ecuador border has caused widespread damage, including the destruction of homes, transport links and thousands of hectares of crops. Friends of the Earth Colombia need your help to get food, water and shelter to the victims. Follow the link at the bottom of the page to make a donation.
The flooding in Tumaco, Colombia.
Copyright:: Andrés Torres, Colprensa, Tumaco
On 16th January, intense rainfall in the area surrounding the Columbia-Ecuador border caused the Mira River to flood. The flooding resulted in the destruction of houses and crops, as well as the death of eight people and the disappearance of 22 more. This natural disaster occurred in a region already affected by problems such as the monoculture of palm oil for agrofuels, deforestation and a lack of food sovereignty. The victims are in desperate need of aid to help them out of this critical situation.
The floods in Tumaco have affected nearly 36,000 people, in particular the areas governed by the Communitarian Councils (the organizational structure of Afrocolombian towns) of the Alto Mira, Bajo Mira and the Frontera. 162 small villages have been affected, in which 20,000 hectares of crops were devastated, causing a general food crisis in the area. Many of the region's transport routes have also been damaged or destroyed.
The Colombian Pacific flood victims currently need water, food, small awnings, cushions, medicines and fuel to transport the aid to those in need. You can support these communities by giving a donation that will be directly transferred to the Communitarian Councils to start the recovery process.
The inhabitants of the region face a double challenge now: to confront the natural disaster and to continue their appeal to the Communitarian Councils to resist agrofuels and confront the climate crisis.
Find out more about the work of Friends of the Earth Colombia / Censat
