President Juan Manuel Santos called on Colombia’s people to show solidarity with victims of disasters caused by this year’s rainy season, states a Friday press release.
Santos invited all Colombians to support the victims through the Great Campaign of Solidarity, organized by Caracol Radio and the Red Cross. The president said that more than one million people have been affected by the rain.
“I invited all Colombians, all business people, to collaborate in this campaign to help the victims, because the rainy season will continue and isn’t going to stop until December,” Santos said. “Alone, we can’t do it.”
The government has provided COP $250 billion ($137.5 million) in aid, and Santos called on citizens to help by providing donations of nonperishable food, hygiene items, and money. He also emphasized that blood donations can be made at the Colombian Red Cross.
As of October 25, the death toll for the 2010 rainy season stood at 97. People in 28 of the country’s 32 departments have been affected, and the Colombian meteorology institute, Ideam, predicts that the La Niña weather phenomenon will be active at least until the first quarter of 2011.
