News by Sara Fernández https://padlet.com/sarafernandez1306/orj9e3rc50fbf7br en-us 2022-08-31 22:39:38 UTC 2026-03-15 01:45:16 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f62e.png The case of Hidroituango sarafernandez1306 https://padlet.com/sarafernandez1306/orj9e3rc50fbf7br/wish/2281773249 Hidro Ituango is an energy project that seeks to take advantage of the water of the Cauca River; If the project works, it will generate 2,400 megawatts (MW). This has eight turbines with a capacity of 300 MW each, that means that if it could cover 17% of the Colombian energy demand, it would become the largest power generator in Colombia.

However, on April 28, 2018, the mighty waters of the Cauca River, loaded with stones, logs and debris, blocked one of the diversion tunnels of the future dam. The situation could have improved if the rains had not increased, but two days later the same thing happened but with more intensity, considerably increasing the flow, putting the population near the riverbank at risk, the dam could not contain as much water and had to pouring the water through the power house, where the river overflowed in the Puerto Valdivia area with serious damage to homes, bridges and school classrooms. If engineers had risk plans, people wouldn't have lost everything.

The money that was lost was 4.3 billion pesos, the contractors of the work would have avoided those losses if the design had been done with the regulations. Also in the disaster, more than 5,000 people had to be evacuated, not counting the families that were downriver, since, if the dam broke, it could have been like the Armero tragedy.

Posted by Sara Fernandez

]]> 2022-09-04 04:52:03 UTC https://padlet.com/sarafernandez1306/orj9e3rc50fbf7br/wish/2281773249 Tragedy of Armero https://padlet.com/sarafernandez1306/orj9e3rc50fbf7br/wish/2286421382 The Armero tragedy was a natural disaster resulting from the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano on Wednesday, November 13, 1985, which affected the departments of Caldas and Tolima, Colombia. After sixty-nine years of inactivity, the eruption took the nearby residents by surprise, if the government had warned with the help of its multiple volcanological organizations, this tragedy would have been avoided.

If the crater had not emitted the pyroclastic flows of the volcano, about 10% of the mountain's glacier would not have melted, sending four lahars —flows of mud, earth and debris resulting from volcanic activity— that descended the slopes of the Nevado to 60km/h And if the lahars had not increased their speed in the nearby ravines, they would not have headed towards the channels of the six rivers that were born in the volcano.

If the town of Armero were located more than 50 km from the volcano, it would not have been hit by these lahars, with more than 20,000 of its 29,000 inhabitants dying there. Victims in other towns, particularly in the municipalities of Chinchiná and Villamaría , increased the death toll to more than 23,000.

Had the rescue efforts not been hampered by mud, better movement and relief action would have been possible; this, by the time rescuers reached Armero, twelve hours after the eruption, many of the seriously injured victims had already died.

Posted by Luddy Katherin Tarazona




]]> 2022-09-07 13:37:13 UTC https://padlet.com/sarafernandez1306/orj9e3rc50fbf7br/wish/2286421382 Forest fires in the Amazon rainforest 2019 https://padlet.com/sarafernandez1306/orj9e3rc50fbf7br/wish/2287150266
The Amazon jungle considered the lung of the world began to burn on August 9, 2019, appearing wildlife and vegetation present in the different ecosystems which were consumed by fire. If the authorities controlled the fire, the environment would have preserved its environmental properties, the reduction of the impact generated by this phenomenon being evident.

According to Paulo Moutinho, if the conservation entities controlled environmental deforestation, the forest would not have presented so many damages because the intervention of the human being in the different ecosystems generates alterations. If human being does not control his activities, the environment can lose its balance, evidencing deterioration in the typical characteristics of the area, which was evidenced in the Amazon since due to deforestation and other practices of the human being without any control, the beginning of the fire that spread through much of the jungle generating great affectations in the area for which its recovery is a process that requires many years through which properties of the different ecosystems consumed by fire can be recovered.

If the communities create plans to take care of the affected area, the forest could recover its characteristics over time, strengthening the growth and performance of the different ecosystems in recovery. If the authorities control the activities of deforestation and other human activities, the forest can recover its properties and characteristics affected in the fire, for the recovery of the forest it is necessary to apply care and environmental care, which over time show its result.

poster by Jorge Garzon

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