The United Nations said shelter, healthcare, education and livelihoods were the most pressing needs following Colombia’s deadly earthquake, as it appealed for $148 million to respond to the emergency.
“Emergency shelter is a big issue,” UN Resident Coordinator in Colombia María José Torres told reporters by video from Quibdó on Friday. She said major hospitals in vulnerable areas were inoperable, along with almost 4,000 educational facilities.
Torres said an updated humanitarian response plan covers 1.2 million people in need, with 127,000 of those most affected by the earthquake given priority. UN agencies and humanitarian partners have reached 72,000 people with emergency shelter, healthcare, education, water and sanitation support, she said.
International donors have provided $35 million, while the UN Central Emergency Response Fund released another $5 million shortly after the disaster. Torres said teams in Chocó and Valle del Cauca had enabled a rapid, coordinated response on the ground.
The earthquake, one of the biggest in Colombia’s history, affected 16 of the country’s 32 departments and 196,000 families, Torres said. At least 331 people were reported dead.
Search-and-rescue teams rescued 364 people, which Torres called “a highlight in this very tragic event,” as the wider emergency response continued.