OCHA Situation Report No. 5
Colombia: Rainfall/Winter Season
24 May 2006


This situation report is based on information provided to OCHA by the
United Nations Resident Coordinator's Office in Colombia and the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Situation

1. On 19 May, the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental
Studies (IDEAM) noted an improvement of weather conditions in several
departments in the eastern Andean region. However, strong rains persist
in the northwestern departments of Antioquia, Choco, and Cordoba.

2. Due to the high likelihood of a sudden rise of the water level, a Red
alert(1) has been maintained along the Magdalena River between
Barrancabermeja, Santander department and Calamar, Bolivar department
and along the Cauca River in the rural areas of Caucasia and its
junction with the Magdalena River, Antioquia department.

3. On 22 May, the National Directorate for Disaster Prevention and
Attention(2) (DGPAD) lowered the alert level along the Magdalena River
for the area between Puerto Salgar, Cundinamarca department, and
Barrancabermeja, Santander department from Orange(3) to Yellow(4).

Impact

4. As of 19 May, 124 people have lost their lives, 166,362 people
(34,585families) been affected, 220 wounded and 21 gone missing since
the beginning of the first rainy season in early January. A total of
1,272 houses have been destroyed and 13,477 severely damaged in 242
municipalities in 26 departments. The Colombian Red Cross (CRC) has
reported that during the first 5 months of the 2006 rainy season the
number of casualties and events has been higher than for the same period
in 2005.

Table 1. Comparative table of events (1 January - 8 May 2006)

|------------+------+------+------|
| Events /   | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
| Number     |      |      |      |
|------------+------+------+------|
| Landslides |   22 |   39 |  120 |
|------------+------+------+------|
| Flooding   |   64 |  122 |  157 |
|------------+------+------+------|
| Avalanches |    5 |   11 |    9 |
|------------+------+------+------|
| Windstorms |   26 |   34 |   29 |
|------------+------+------+------|
| Total      |  117 |  206 |  315 |
|------------+------+------+------|



Table 2. Comparison of impact of rainy season (1 January - 8 May 2006)

|-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+--------+---------+--------|
|Impact |       |       |       |        |        |         |        |
|between|       |       |       |        |        |         |        |
|   1   |       |       |       |        |        |         |        |
|January|       |       |       |        |        |         |        |
| and 8 |       |       |       |        |        |         |        |
|  May  |       |       |       |        |        |         |        |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+--------+---------+--------|
|       |Killed |Injured|Missing|Affected|Affected|  Homes  | Homes  |
|       |       |       |       |persons |Families|destroyed|damaged |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+--------+---------+--------|
| 2004  |  14   |  34   |   3   |110.229 | 22.261 |   182   | 11.354 |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+--------+---------+--------|
| 2005  |  66   |  416  |  18   |216.220 | 43.352 |  9.025  | 15.371 |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+--------+---------+--------|
| 2006  |  124  |  220  |  21   |166,362 | 34,585 |  1.272  | 13,447 |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+--------+---------+--------|




5. According to IDEAM, this winter has been one of the worst three in
the last two decades and the situation is likely to worsen during the
next 10 years. IDEAM also reports that alerts will be maintained until
the end of June 2006. To date, it has been impossible to fully determine
the magnitude of the damage caused by the first rainy season.

National Response

6. IDEAM continues to monitor the weather conditions and is issuing
daily alerts.

7. In all affected areas, the National Disaster Prevention and Attention
System(5) (SNPAD) is delivering food and non-food assistance with
support from CRC volunteers. To date, approximately 1,546 families have
benefited from these distributions, while an estimated 2,000 families
have received direct assistance from the CRC. The CRC is seeking
additional support and funding in order to reach a further 2,000
families who are currently in need of assistance.

8. The CRC, in coordination with the SNPAD, plans to provide assistance
to 5,000 families during the next three to four weeks.

9. The Regional Committee for Disaster Prevention and Attention (CREPAD)
is assessing losses and preparing contingency plans.

10. The UN Emergency Technical Team (UNETE), which comprises IOM,
PAHO/WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF and OCHA, holds weekly meetings to share
information and prepare to respond should the need arise.

11. PAHO/WHO is working with the health authorities at both national and
local level to strengthen national response capacities.

12. OCHA is supporting overall coordination between the SNPAD, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the donor community and international NGOs,
and providing information on the scale of the winter season in Colombia.

13. At local level, UN interagency teams are collaborating with the
CREPAD in order to enhance coordination and assess needs. UN agencies
have recently participated in joint missions in Pasto, Narino
department, Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca department, and Soacha,
Bogota.

International response

14. The Government of Colombia has not requested international support.

15. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing
USD 50,000 to the American Red Cross in conjunction with the CRC for the
local purchase and distribution of relief supplies to meet the basic
needs of the communities affected by the damage caused by ongoing
flooding.

16. The IFRC has allocated funds from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund
(DREF) to enable the CRC to provide assistance to another 1,000
families. The IFRC's Pan American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU)
continues to monitor the situation together with the CRC and will
mobilize a Regional Intervention Team (RIT) member to support the relief
operation.

17. OCHA is in close contact with the Office of the United Nations
Resident Coordinator in Colombia and will revert with further
information as it becomes available.

18. This situation report, together with further information on other
ongoing emergencies is also available on the OCHA Internet Website at
http://www.reliefweb.int

Telephone: +41-22-917 12 34
Fax: +41-22-917 00 23
E-mail: ochagva@un.org

In case of emergency only: Tel. +41-22-917 20 10

Desk Officer:
  Ms. Marie Spaak
    E-mail: spaak@un.org
    Direct Tel. +41-22-917 21 63

Press contact:
  GVA - Ms. Elizabeth Byrs, Direct Tel. + 41-22-917 2653
  NYC - Ms. Stephanie Bunker, Direct Tel. +1-917-367 51 26
  NYC - Mr. Brian Grogan, Direct Tel. +1-212-963 11 43

Footnotes

(1) The water level has reached or gone beyond critical levels, causing
rivers to overflow and affect inhabited areas.

(2) Direccion General de Prevencion y Atencion de Desastres

(3) Rising river water levels and the persistence of the rains cause
situations of imminent risk of floods that would affect populated areas.

(4) The persistence and intensity of the rains could provoke river
overflows in days or weeks.

(5) Sistema Nacional de Prevencion y Atencion de Desastres (SNPAD)


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