© JOAQUIN SARMIENTOPeople stare at the flooded street after heavy rains.
"During the month of January, rainfall patterns above normal were recorded in several regions of the national territory," the meteorological authority said in a statement, warning that these conditions will continue in the coming days.
Ideam also points out that this behavior has increased rainfall by 64.4% compared to normal, with the greatest impact in the north, center and west of the country.
Since last Friday, the most intense rains have been concentrated in the southern departments of the country such as Putumayo and Nariño; in the central departments of Caldas, Risaralda, Huila and Boyacá, and in the northwest, Antioquia.
In Bogotá, the rainfall of those days has left flooding, collapsed streets and fallen trees in 14 of the 20 districts of the capital , according to the District Institute of Risk Management and Climate Change (Idiger).
Emergencies in the Caribbean and the interior of the country
In the Caribbean city of Cartagena de Indias , heavy rains on Sunday, accompanied by strong winds and a swell, caused flooding on various roads and power outages in several areas.
Local authorities have reported that winds have ranged between 46 and 55 kilometers per hour and waves have reached three meters, with forecasts that they could rise to four meters in the southwest Caribbean, so a red flag has been declared on the beaches.
In statements to EFE, Ideam meteorologist Daniel Useche explains that the increase in rainfall in the north of the country is associated with the advance of a "cold front from the northern hemisphere", which has increased atmospheric instability in the Colombian Caribbean.
According to the expert, this phenomenon has acted in combination with the entry of moisture from the Brazilian Amazon and a low-pressure area over the northwest of the territory, which has favored the formation of persistent cloud cover and rain even in regions where January is usually a dry month.
In the desert department of La Guajira, especially in its capital, Riohacha, some 20,000 people have been affected and more than 30 neighborhoods have been flooded after the passage of the cold front over the Caribbean, according to local authorities.
Likewise, in Córdoba, a state of public calamity has been declared after more than 13,000 people were reported affected in 17 of its 30 municipalities.
"Atmospheric conditions continue to be favorable for rainfall in several regions, so it is essential to stay informed and heed the alerts issued by Ideam," said Jennifer Dorado, head of the Forecast and Alert Service Office at Ideam, as quoted in the statement.
(Translated by Google)
Comment: Related: Heavy rains trigger large-scale flooding across Colombia's Medellín