UTC+2
Ituango Dam - Colombia
 Situation overview
The Ituango Dam is an earth-core rock-filled dam currently under construction on the Cauca River in the Antioquia Department of Colombia.

Heavy rains increased water level in the Cauca River. Between 28 April and 7 May 2018, two tunnels which divert water to the Cauca River collapsed. On 10 May, a decision was made to flood the engine room to mitigate risk. On 16 May, a further obstruction in the powerhouse further complicated the situation. As a result, on 16 May, the Joint Command Centre led by the National Disaster Risk Management Unit (UNGRD) with the participation of the Ministry of Environment, ordered the evacuation of downstream areas (for an estimated population of reportedly up to 120,000) as a mitigation measure in the event of a dam burst.

On 17 May 2018, the Minister of Environment of Colombia requested assistance to UN Environment for providing technical experts to advise on dam stability issues and potential environmental risks. On the same day, the UN Environment/OCHA Joint Unit alerted the Environmental Emergencies Roster.

A team of three technical experts, supported by a UN Environment team leader, will be deployed between Monday 21 May and Wednesday 23 May for two weeks. A fourth technical expert is on stand-by.

The team members are:
- Mr Philipp Teysseire (Switzerland), mobilised by the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC)
- Mr Arnaud Rousselin (France), mobilised by the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (EUCPM)
- Mr Claudio Carvajal (France/Chile), mobilised by the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (EUCPM)

The team will be led by:
- Dan Stothart (UN Environment's Regional Humanitarian Affairs Officer)

UN Environment Colombia (Juan Bello) is ensuring in-country support and liaison with authorities.

The mission focal point in Geneva is Margherita Fanchiotti, UN Environment/OCHA Joint Unit (email: fanchiotti@un.org, mobile: +41 76 691 08 59).
  Status of request for assistance
This is a public website hosted by the UN OCHA to facilitate information exchange in disaster preparedness and response.
The information on this page is provided by individuals and organizations and does not reflect the views of OCHA or the United Nations.