Together with our partners, Children Change Colombia is ready to deliver immediate assistance to those affected.
Unusually heavy and persistent rainfall over recent days has triggered widespread flooding along Colombia’s Caribbean coast, affecting more than 69,000 families, and causing severe damage to homes, livelihoods, and critical infrastructure. Thousands of already vulnerable families are left without shelter, food, or access to basic services. The scale of material damage and personal loss demands an urgent humanitarian response.
La Niña–like conditions deepen hardship for already vulnerable communities
Colombia is grappling with a growing climate emergency as relentless rain and tropical storms hammer the country under La Niña–like conditions. Swollen rivers, flash floods, strong winds, and landslides have destroyed homes, claimed human and animal lives, and caused widespread material losses.
Tens of thousands of people are displaced nationwide, with the Caribbean region among the hardest hit where collapsed bridges and damaged roads have cut off communities from essential services, including key routes between Santa Marta and La Guajira.
Hardest hit are poor communities, including Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities – many living in hard-to-reach or rural areas with already fragile roads, bridges, and homes.
Official figures from Colombia’s national weather authority (IDEAM) show that rainfall in the Andean and Caribbean regions has exceeded historical averages by more than 70% – an unusually sharp increase for what is normally a dry season. The impact is most severe in Córdoba, where up to 70% of the territory remains underwater, with Atlántico, Bolívar, La Guajira, Magdalena, and Sucre also heavily affected.
More rain ahead as floodwaters threaten to rise again
Meteorological authorities warn that further rainfall is expected in the coming days, raising serious concerns that flooding may worsen in already saturated areas.
Urgent needs
An emergency assessment conducted by Children Change Colombia (CCC) together with our local partners in the affected areas has identified the following critical and immediate needs:
- Health and hygiene: First-aid supplies and hygiene kits to prevent disease outbreaks in flooded and overcrowded areas.
- Food security: Emergency food distributions for displaced families facing acute shortages.
- Psychosocial support: Mental health and trauma support for children and their caregivers affected by loss, displacement, and prolonged stress.
Together with our partners, Children Change Colombia is ready to deliver immediate assistance to those affected. Our established presence and operational capacity in the affected regions allow for a rapid and coordinated response, including:
- Coordinated humanitarian action: Working alongside local authorities and other humanitarian actors to ensure an efficient and complementary response.
- Emergency relief distribution: Provision of food kits and essential household items to displaced families in the most affected communities.
More information and resources
- Informe en vídeo de Reuters:https://www.reuters.com/video/watch/idRW315405022026RP1/
- Cobertura de CityTV / YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4VX6uoqXBI
- Caracol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F24UY2awzk
- Infobae: Lluvias históricas en Colombia: expertos atribuyen el fenómeno al chorro de la Orinoquía, la humedad amazónica y la Oscilación Madden-Julian
