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Aid ramps up
The UN said it was scaling up humanitarian assistance in western Colombia after last week’s 7.4-magnitude earthquake, with plans to serve more than 100,000 people in need.
“plans to serve more than 100,000 people in need”
The UN update said the earthquake affected 15 departments and 472 municipalities, and that as of 17 August, 304 deaths, 4,400 injuries and 426 missing people had been reported.
The World Food Programme said it was seeking $23 million to provide food assistance to 100,000 people over the next three months, and reported that more than 2,000 people received food assistance in Pereira and Quibdó on Sunday alone.
WFP said it would expand operations this week using food stocks and its network of field offices and logistics hubs in Cali, Quibdó and Medellín, while warning that recovery would require sustained support.
Nils Grede, WFP Country Director in Colombia, said, “But, we know from experience that recovery does not end when the first wave of support subsides.”
Competing counts, new pledges
While the UN update tied its figures to 17 August, World Jewish Relief said the earthquake struck on Monday 10 August with its epicentre near San José del Palmar in Chocó and that at least 280 people had been killed.
World Jewish Relief said it was working alongside CADENA through its Disaster Fund, and that it would reach around 2,000 people with clean water systems and filters to support displaced people living in shelters.
In a separate response, the U.S. Department of State announced $11 million in additional humanitarian assistance, bringing total U.S. assistance following the earthquake to $26.5 million.
The U.S. Embassy statement said the Department of State was mobilizing a total of $26.5 million in humanitarian food, health, protection and shelter assistance, in addition to post-earthquake structural assessments through partners including UNICEF and the UN World Food Program (WFP).
It also quoted the U.S. plan to leverage support from SOUTHCOM, stating that the first of the planned flights was scheduled to depart Homestead Air Force Base in Florida’s Miami-Dade County today.
Access limits and rebuilding
The UN said humanitarian access remained difficult in some of the worst-affected areas, with landslides and damage to at least 16 roads and 10 bridges hampering the movement of relief teams and supplies, particularly in Chocó.
“damage to at least 16 roads and 10 bridges are hampering the movement of relief teams”
The UN also said the presence of non-State armed groups was limiting access in some rural areas, while OCHA named Chocó, Valle del Cauca, Risaralda and Caldas as priority areas because of the scale of the damage.
In parallel, the Argentine government said its humanitarian operation would base itself in Quibdó in the Colombian department of Chocó, describing the area as complex due to its geographical isolation, dense jungle, heavy rainfall, and limitations in road infrastructure.
The Argentine statement said the operation would be led by the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces and conducted under the supervision of the Ministry of Defense, with coordination through the diplomatic channels of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship.
It added that cargo loading of the Hercules C-130 would begin at 16:00 at the El Palomar Air Brigade, with takeoff scheduled for 19:00 and the Embraer RJ-140 departing at 23:00 with the personnel for the mission.