Red Cross visits Colombian areas hit by earthquake and conflict

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has visited rural areas in the western Colombian municipalities of San José del Palmar, Sipí, Nóvita, and Bajo Baudó. These regions in the Chocó department are among the hardest hit by both ongoing armed conflict and a powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck on August 10.

According to the ICRC, the organization is identifying the most urgent needs to direct humanitarian aid. "This situation makes communities suffer because they are disconnected from the world. The isolation is affecting their access to basic services, which are already difficult to access normally," said Emilie Prache, the ICRC delegate in Chocó.

San José del Palmar, the earthquake's epicenter in Chocó, along with areas in Valle del Cauca, Risaralda, and Caldas, are now facing a crisis extending beyond immediate rescue efforts. Inhabitable homes, closed schools and businesses, and families searching for belongings highlight the need for assistance to rebuild.

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This situation makes communities suffer because they are disconnected from the world. The isolation is affecting their access to basic services, which are already difficult to access normally.

Colombian authorities have reported 321 deaths, 257 missing, and 4,595 injured from the earthquake. In Chocó, the seismic event has exacerbated existing issues of poverty, chronic infrastructure deficits, geographic isolation, and the persistent presence of armed groups like the ELN guerrilla and the Clan del Golfo criminal organization.

"When a new emergency affects communities already facing the consequences of armed conflicts, their needs cannot be understood in isolation," stated Olivier Dubois, head of the ICRC's regional delegation in Bogotá. "A new impact can deepen existing needs and make people's daily lives even more difficult. Understanding what has changed is fundamental to adapting our humanitarian response to what these communities need now."

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When a new emergency affects communities already facing the consequences of armed conflicts, their needs cannot be understood in isolation. A new impact can deepen existing needs and make people's daily lives even more difficult. Understanding what has changed is fundamental to adapting our humanitarian response to what these communities need now.