Housing vulnerability, agricultural production, and goods lost estimated to floods in Rio Nuevo a rural community in Colombia

Floods affect households, crops, and assets, especially inrural areas in Colombia; due to the lack of risk managementplans, settlements without core services and land use planning,atypical natural phenomena, and climate change. The floodsrecorded since 1964, in the rural community of Rio Nuevo inthe department of Córdoba, but there is a lack of estimates ofthe economic losses and housing vulnerability. The researchaim was to determine the degree of physical vulnerability andestimated economic losses in crops and goods due to floodingin the local community of Río Nuevo, Valencia Town. Themethodological guide for the elaboration of departmental plansfor risk management (known in Spanish as PDGR), and themethodology for the economic valuation of potential directtangible damages, was selected the variables (age, construction,regulations, soil, walls, floors, goods, and crops), questions,surveys to population, available data, proceed to process theinformation, elaborate maps and analyze.

The results revealphysical vulnerability high in Rio Nuevo, with a value of 0.63on a scale of 0 to 1. The rural community houses built located at a distance of fewer than 30 meters, mainly with wood, thesoil of alluvial deposits, faced floods, humidity damages,hardening resistance, and non-quality life. The economiclosses estimated between goods and crops were US$174200.22.A poverty condition, poor infrastructure, and unfavorableplaces, hamper improve the quality of the people. Colombiangovernment need to execute a proper infrastructure investmentto reduce persistence vulnerability and relocated this riversidearea, according to its culture and traditions, and protect theeconomy around crops. [Publisher's text]