Exclusive: ‘We have not received any aid,’ says mayor of El Cairo, municipality half-destroyed by the earthquake

22 kilometers in a straight line from San José del Palmar (Chocó), epicenter of the earthquake that shook Colombia on the morning of last August 10, is El Cairo, a municipality in Valle del Cauca with 8,500 inhabitants.

The proximity to the origin point of the violent tremor destroyed about 80 percent of the buildings in El Cairo, most of them made of bareque and tile. But it also affected its hospital, Santa Catalina, a more modern building. 24 hours after the 90-second shake, the town still had no electricity or internet connection. Its mayor, Carlos Castro Correa, agreed to speak with EL TIEMPO about what is happening in that place, where aid has not yet arrived.

I would say that 100 percent of the buildings in the municipality have some type of damage, mainly to the roof. Many homes were destroyed, mostly with damage to the roofs.

We are a municipality with a population of 8,500 people. Most of the houses are over 100 years old and being built with bareque, they crack very easily. We are asking the departmental government and the national government for help; we need materials to rebuild the municipality. Most of the population is low-income.

So far, aid has not arrived. Communication has been very difficult because the only place where we have internet is at the Santa Catalina hospital. Here we have the Unified Command Post and from what I have been able to talk with Governor Dilian Francisca Toro, she has already spoken with the President. However, we are awaiting a response.

We already have water and gas, however, we have not been able to restore the electricity service. Also, although the roads are functioning, there are landslides in several points. That is why aid has not been able to reach us either.

(Check here all the articles from EL TIEMPO’s Investigative Unit)

INVESTIGATIVE UNIT

u.investigativa@eltiempo.com

@UinvestigativaET

Follow us now on Facebook