Local authorities in the southwest department of Cauca issued a preventive red alert warning on Tuesday night for residents along the department’s river banks after heavy rains, El Espectador reports.
According to the Regional Committee for Disaster Prevention and Response, chaired by the governor of Cauca, the measure includes, among others, the decisions to organize a plan of action for emergency care and a technical review of infrastructure in the area, particularly pedestrian and vehicle bridges.
In addition, temporary accomodation will be set-up for potential victims of flooding in 13 of the 41 municipalities within Cauca.
On Monday, a massive landslide destroyed several homes in the rural area of Tacueyo in the Cauca department after the Palo River burst its banks. Two hundred families were evacuated prior to the disaster.
This was one of several natural disasters to occur over recent days with five people having been killed in the southwest department of Nariño on Monday and a further four in Medellin on Sunday.
Last week, the Committee for Disaster Prevention and Treatment in the city of Bucaramanga, northeastern Colombia, also issued red alert following heavy rains in the region.