The National Government, under the leadership of President Gustavo Petro, took drastic measures in the face of the devastating rainy season that is hitting the country. Through Decree 0150 of February 11, 2026, the declaration of a State of Economic, Social and Ecological Emergency was made official in the departments of Córdoba, Antioquia, La Guajira, Sucre, Bolívar, Cesar, Magdalena and Chocó.

This measure, which will have an initial validity of 30 days, seeks to grant extraordinary powers to the Executive to mitigate a natural disaster that already leaves a tragic balance of 10 people dead and more than 252,000 citizens affected.

The basis of this Decree lies in the appearance of an anomalous cold front that hit the Caribbean and the Pacific with unprecedented fury. According to reports from Ideam and Dimar, rainfall in these regions exceeded the historical monthly averages by up to 180% in less than a week.

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This “atypical and low predictability” phenomenon caused the collapse of critical infrastructure and put the national energy system in check, with reservoirs such as Urrá I operating at 103% of their capacity, which forced the suspension of energy generation to avoid a major catastrophe.

The situation in the countryside is critical: more than 87,000 hectares of crops are under water, which threatens food security and has triggered alerts about outbreaks of diseases such as dengue and malaria.

Given the insufficiency of ordinary resources, with a 2026 budget that suffered cuts in contingency funds, the national government will use these powers to carry out urgent monetary transfers through Citizen Income, forgive debts to farmers through Finagro and execute emergency hydraulic works that allow saving what remains of agricultural production in flooded areas.

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