Due to the entry of Hurricane ETA, on November 2, 2020, the Alert Committee of the Secretariat in the Offices of Risk Management and National Contingencies (COPECO) declared a red alert in the departments of the northern zone1 , then on November 4, a national emergency declaration was issued. Two weeks later, on November 15, it was decided to maintain the red alert for an indefinite period of time due to the entry of Hurricane IOTA into the national territory.

According to situation report No. 04 prepared by the Office of the Resident Coordinator and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on November 20, reports more than 3 million people living in areas impacted by the ATS phenomenon. In addition, 600,000 people are affected by the second IOTA phenomenon. There are 91 people dead, 76,000 people in shelters and 180,000 people evacuated.

One of the most affected areas was the Sula Valley, where several floods and a high level of soil saturation were recorded. Thousands of people in the area were forced to evacuate and some to move to temporary collective sites.

The response from the government, civil society, international cooperation agencies, non-governmental organizations, among others, was immediate. However, the challenges are even greater due to the context generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly when the population goes to temporary collective sites, where the situation makes it difficult to comply with social distancing measures.