After little or no respite from severe weather, Colombia has once again been battered by heavy rainfall and landslides which have killed 128 people to date and affected more than three million people in the last year. According to preliminary estimates, more than 100,000 cattle have died and one million livestock have had to be evacuated.
WSPA has been on the ground assessing the situation since last week, together with local member societies APAP and AHURA, but the area to be covered is vast, and the possible needs, great. Floods and landslides have affected vast parts of the country, while WSPA’s Disaster Animal Response Team (DART) has been assessing the need in the two worst-affected departments, Cundinamarca in the centre and Bolivar in the north, as well as part of a third, Boyaca. Any need for relief is also being examined in the two departments of Santander and Cesar.
At this stage, it is thought that there may be a need for food, water, shelter and veterinary care, as the animals are suffering from malnutrition, parasites, foot and dermatological diseases.
WSPA was last on the ground in the South American nation only four months ago, following Colombia’s worst flooding in decades. WSPA is also helping out in neighboring Bolivia, which like Colombia, has also been affected by the La Niña phenomenon, aggravating the current rainy season.
