Colombia Reports

35 million Colombians, which is 80 percent of the country’s population, is insufficiently protected against natural disasters. The majority of municipalities is not able to properly facilitate disaster prevention.

Colombia’s State Controller issued an early warning after the country’s Planning Department published a report saying 35 percent of the Colombians is exposed to a high level of risk for floods, landslides or earthquakes. Another 47 percent is exposed to a medium level for natural disasters.

According to the controller, the authorities are not ready to prevent, manage or repond to calamities.

The problem is mostly critical on municipal level. Almost half of the country’s local governments formed commissions for disaster prevention, but they structurally lack resources, personnel and the technical capacity to conduct proper risk management.

Only 14 percent of the country’s municipalities has sufficient emergency plans.