Colombia increases the number of municipalities on alert to 883 due to the risk of forest fires

He Government Colombian Municipalities on alert for risks of fires forestry due to El Niño phenomenonindicated this Tuesday the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Susana Mohammedwhich defined the situation as “very critical”.

Of the 883 municipalities on alert for fires, 582 are on red alert; Furthermore, 47 municipalities are threatened by landslides and 89 are on alert due to lack of water.

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At the moment there is five fires assets, the minister detailed in Tumacoin the department of Nariño (southwest), headquarters of the Colombian government during this week to face the serious problems of the Pacific Region.

Of these five fires, those in Cali -where firefighters found a vehicle on fire and the fire spread-; that of Bogotá, what “it’s already confined”and those from the department of Santander They are the most worrying.

In case of Bogotáwhere on Monday a fire in the eastern hills, “Discharges continue during the morning to be able to control the number of hectares“, reported Mohammed.

On the other hand, more than 300 hectares were devastated this weekend in the department of Santander (Northeast) due to several forest fires in the cities of Floridablanca It is Buttresses.

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The alerts

Colombian authorities have been warning for weeks about the risk of fires and the extended drought The boy, and although according to the minister the number of emergencies and hectares affected by fires is similar to that of 2019 and is below 2016, the situation remains “very critical.”

The National Disaster Risk Management Unit (Ungrd) reported that since November 3rd and until January 20th there were 237 forest fires that 131 municipalities were affected.

Since November, 161 forest fires have been associated with El Niño, explained the director responsible for Ungrd, Victor Meza.

“In historical studies we have found that more than 80% of fires are caused by carelessness or criminal hands”am sorry MohammedTherefore, criminal investigation protocols are active, as starting a fire is punishable by up to 15 years in prison and financial fines.

“We are only in the third week of January, we still have a long way to go,” warned Mohammedwho reiterated the appeal to citizens to contribute to saving water, while the Carabineros Police work to rescue the wildlife that is also being affected by the fires.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.