They declare public calamity in Cartagena: Iota has so far claimed 155 thousand victims

Storm Iota’s impact on cities like Cartagena in the Colombian Caribbean was literally disastrous. According to the report delivered on Saturday evening, November 14, by the mayor of the capital of Bolívar, William Dau Chamat, about 155,000 residents were affected by the downpours that flooded 70 percent of the city.

The water, which in some places reached the inhabitants of the Eroica up to their necks, directly affected 31,550 families. According to Mayor Dau, 33 neighborhoods have been flooded, 22 schools have been hit and dozens of trees have fallen. Also in the city there were 14 landslides and, in rural areas, there were losses of between 50 and 100 hectares of crops.

What worries William Dau and the people of Cartagena the most, besides the damage caused by Iota, is the heavy rains that could aggravate the situation. “It would be a human tragedy,” the mayor said.

The Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (Ideam) predicts the storm will turn into a hurricane between the night of November 15 and the early morning of November 16, a fact that would particularly affect the islands of San Andrés and Providencia, but also the capital of Bolívar and the northern departments of the country; even those of the central region.

Due to the passage of Iota in the Caribbean, Mayor Dau has declared the city in public calamity, which is why he will be able to hire specialized risk mitigation teams and will have the direct support of the national government, which, as announced by President Iván Duca, It will deploy public force units to support the victims.

“From the early hours, all the teams in all the mayor’s offices are ready to act to mitigate the effects. Today we will decree a calamity for the heavy rains and with that we can immediately hire teams to mitigate the effects “Dau said on the morning of November 14, before the signing of the decree.

Among the emergency measures, the establishment of not one, but three unified Command Posts, as well as the adaptation of the Combat Colosseum as a temporary refuge for victims.

Before the emergency, William Dau requested cash assistance to assist the needs of the victims in a savings account of Banco de Occidente 830-12551-4, in the name of the Tourist and Cultural District of Cartagena de Indias.