Arauca and Casanare flood disaster prompts humanitarian corridor request

Intense rains in early July 2026 caused severe flooding across Colombia's eastern departments of Arauca, Casanare and Boyacá. The disaster left more than 9,000 families in Arauca and over 11,400 families in the region damaged or displaced, prompting the declaration of public calamity in Arauca and a pending declaration in Casanare. Floodwaters submerged large portions of municipalities such as Arauquita, Saravena, Tame, San Luis de Palenque and Nunchía, collapsing bridges and closing key road corridors, which halted mobility for thousands of passengers and generated estimated economic losses of over COP 300 million.

The Colombian government mobilised the national army’s engineering brigade to evacuate residents, rescue people trapped by rising waters, and distribute humanitarian aid to roughly 800 families. Simultaneously, the United Nations‑affiliated risk‑management agency (UNGRD) and the Ministry of Transport coordinated the installation of temporary military bridges to restore connectivity.

Facing continued isolation of Arauca’s road network, Colombian officials formally requested that Venezuela open a temporary humanitarian corridor through the Apure and Táchira states to transport patients and relief supplies. Diplomatic talks are under way to enable the corridor while Venezuelan authorities have expressed solidarity with the affected Colombian communities.

The agricultural sector was also hit hard: the national rice federation warned that thousands of hectares of near‑harvest rice in Arauca and Casanare were flooded, calling for urgent government assistance and machinery to restore fields and transport routes.