President Gustavo Petro (R) during a lunch with Colombian troops, Aug. 2022. | Photo: Twitter/ @globovision
Bogota, August 21 (RHC)-- Colombia's President Gustavo Petro has asked the irregular armed groups for a truce to be able to face the winter season that will begin in October and end in December.
The Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) forecasts that heavy rains in the three winter months could affect at least 40 percent of the country's surface. It estimates that the wave of rains will be stronger than the one that left nearly three million people affected in 2010.
"Summer 2022 in Colombia is over... authorities and citizens are concerned about the damage that an intense winter could cause, given that the rains caused enormous damage, deaths and homelessness in the first half of the year," outlet Colombia reported.
"The IDEAM considers that the second rainy season of the year will be atypical, which means that there will be rainfall of greater intensity and duration. The disaster prevention authorities are concerned about the increase in the flow of the rivers and the population concentrations in areas mountain," it added.
"In the midst of this situation, it would be painful if the exchange of gunfire hindered the rescue efforts in the different regions of Colombia," President Petro said and urged the Armed Forces to be ready to help the families, fundamentally in regions lacking of infrastructures such as the Pacific coast and the Amazon.
As part of his human security policy, Petro will try to get military forces and rural communities to reestablish their relations, especially in matters related to prevention, warning, and reconstruction in the territories potentially most affected by the rainy season.
The President also asked the mayors and governors to reinforce prevention measures to reduce the impacts of the rains caused by "La Niña." This weather pattern, which occurs every few years as a result of temperature variations in the Pacific Ocean, can lead to intense storms and floods in some places and droughts in others.
