Colombia’s rainy season leaves 49 dead, 13 missing

Rains that have affected Colombia over the past two months have left 49 people dead, 13 missing and 160,983 victims, reported newspaper El Heraldo on Monday.

Additionally, the first rainy season of the year injured 48, according to a report by the National Unit for Risk and Disaster Management (UNGRD).

UNGRD director Carlos Ivan Marquez pointed out that the rain has destroyed 620 homes and damaged 22,256 others.

The rains also damaged 485 roads, 107 water pipelines, 123 education facilities, and 18 health facilities.

Marquez stressed that the rain has caused 745 emergencies in 470 of 1100 municipalities. The majority of those incidents (456) have been floods followed by landslides (202) and extreme winds (66). The rest have had to do with thunderstorms, avalanches, hailstorms, and sea swells.

According to Marquez, the government has assigned $14 million to assist the victims, which add up to 34,687 families.

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