Bogota authorities were able to lower the water level in the flooded southwest of Colombia’s capital by pumping water into lesser populated fields.
According to the local authorities the water level had dropped a foot by Saturday after pumping began on Friday.
The homes of some 50,000 people were flooded after the Bogota river broke its banks.
The draining operating was dubbed “Operation Mississippi” and is the first of its kind in Colombia, said the governor of Cundinamarca, the department surrounding the capital district.
Colombian President Santos promised to give each of the approximately 10,000 families $750 in financial compensation for the damages to their homes.
Floods and landslide have killed 140 people and has affected more than a half million Colombians since the year’s second rainy season began in September, the Red Cross announced earlier this week.
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