29,000 evacuated due to floods

Over 29,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in Colombia due to massive floods triggered by torrential rains, the Colombian Red Cross (CRC) said.

Over 29,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in Colombia due to massive floods triggered by torrential rains, the Colombian Red Cross (CRC) said.

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"The situation remains difficult" as rain continues to fall in 24 of Colombia's 32 provinces, CRC official Cesar Uruena said.

The worst affected are people living in the basins of Colombia's two most important rivers - the Magdalena and the Cauca, he said.

In La Dorada town on the banks of the Magdalena, 4,200 families have fled. Another 1,700 families were evacuated in Puerto Boyaca town.

The level of the Magdalena rose after dam operators began releasing water from a rain-swollen reservoir near the southwestern city of Neiva.

"We have had more than a year of daily rains," the CRC official said.