Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos announced on Tuesday that Colombia will borrow $150 million from the World Bank to help the victims of this year’s rainy season.
“We are going … to take an emergency loan of $150 million from the World Bank,” Santos said.
Santos said the government will design a plan to use the resources to “ease the suffering of so many Colombians who are suffering from this rainy season.”
“We have asked the Ministers of Housing, Agriculture and Transport to design a plan for us to use the resources as soon as possible,” Santos stated.
The president also revealed the government would immediately use $25 million of money seized from drug trafficking to help the more than 250 million people suffering from the rainy season.
Santos stated the government has spent more than COP500 million ($264 million) to address the emergencies. Colombia is currently trying to collect $532 million in donations to provide aid to flood victims.