COLOMBIA · CARIBBEAN COAST · FLOODS
Heavy rain flooded streets in the Colombian Caribbean cities of Santa Marta and Cartagena on Saturday, and Santa Marta’s city hall declared a red alert for flash floods.
Key Facts
- —What happened Heavy rain flooded streets in Santa Marta and Cartagena on Saturday, 24 October 2026.
- —Red alert Santa Marta declared a red alert for flash floods on the Piedras and Manzanares rivers.
- —Cartagena A presidential seafront opening was suspended, and a storm cut water to about 15% of users.
- —Wider area Floods also hit places in Magdalena, Córdoba, Sucre and Atlántico departments.
- —Toll No deaths have been confirmed so far, and no full damage count has been published.
- —Power Index Colombia ranks 6th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 51.9 points (October 2026 edition).
A Santa Marta red alert, declared on Saturday, 24 October 2026, followed heavy rain that flooded streets in the Colombian port city and raised the risk of flash floods on two rivers. Cartagena, the walled colonial city farther west along the Caribbean coast, also had flooded neighbourhoods, and its mayor suspended the opening of a seafront promenade that President Abelardo de la Espriella was due to attend.
The rain matters to foreign readers because the Caribbean coast is a popular destination for travellers, including from the United States, and forecasters expect more showers in the coming days. None of the official and press accounts we read confirms a death as of early Sunday, but no full damage count has been published either.
In Plain English
- Red alert: the top level of Colombia’s colour-coded warnings, a call to act at once rather than wait.
- IDEAM: Colombia’s national weather and river-monitoring institute, whose alerts cities act on.
- Flash flood (creciente súbita): a river or stream that rises within minutes after heavy rain upstream.
- PMU: a joint command post where fire crews, civil defence and disaster agencies coordinate the response.
What Happened in Santa Marta
Rain fell on Santa Marta from midday on Saturday, according to Caracol Radio, and floodwater soon covered stretches of the tourist road to Minca and the entrance to the Curinca neighbourhood. The city hall issued the red alert in the early afternoon, citing the latest bulletin of IDEAM, which warned of flash floods on the Piedras and Manzanares rivers.
IDEAM’s bulletin of midnight on Sunday, 25 October, also names the Gaira river and the Tigrera stream and notes floods in Santa Marta’s urban area and an overflow of the Gaira on 24 October. The same list warns of possible flash floods on the Córdoba and Toribio rivers near the town of Ciénaga.
Santa Marta’s disaster office, known as Ogricc, opened a command post and sent heavy machinery to critical points, Caracol reported. It handed more than 100 relief items, including sleeping mats, food parcels, hygiene and kitchen kits and bed sheets, to families in Villa Betel after the Tamacá stream overflowed.
Cartagena and the Rest of the Coast
Cartagena had more than five hours of rain on Saturday, according to El Universal, and the city’s risk-management office sent rapid-reaction teams into flooded areas. Its report lists damage in Las Palmeras, Fredonia, San Fernando, Olaya Herrera, San Pedro, Villa Rosita, Cerros de Albornoz, Nelson Mandela and El Pozón, with water entering homes.
A tree fell in the Cartagenita area and canals overflowed, and RCN reported that one person was rescued from a car trapped by the water. Mayor Dumek Turbay suspended the opening of the first two kilometres of the Gran Malecón del Mar, a seafront promenade, and told President De la Espriella that there would be another opportunity.
In Magdalena department, Governor Margarita Guerra opened a joint command post and listed an overflow of the Tamacá stream and a rising Manzanares river, a landslide on homes in Plato, fallen trees in Ciénaga and the Frío river spilling onto roads in Zona Bananera. IDEAM’s bulletin also records floods on 24 October in the Zona Bananera settlements of Río Frío, Santa Rosalía, Gran Vía and Reposo.
Farther west, IDEAM records flooding and overflowing streams in Tolú, Palmito and San José de Toluviejo in Sucre department, and in Córdoba preliminary figures show effects in at least seven municipalities. In Barranquilla four vehicles were swept away at Villa Tarel, fire chief Edwin Pacheco said.
Saturday, 24 October, at a Glance
- From midday: heavy rain begins to flood streets in Santa Marta.
- Early afternoon: Santa Marta’s city hall declares a red alert for flash floods.
- Planned for 3 p.m.: Cartagena suspends the promenade opening after about four hours of rain.
- Afternoon: Cartagena’s water utility reports a pumping failure that cuts supply to about 15% of users.
- Midnight into Sunday: IDEAM lists red alerts for the Santa Marta rivers, Sucre streams and floods in Cartagena.
Why It Rained During an El Niño
IDEAM declared an El Niño on 8 October 2026, but the institute says that does not stop Colombia’s second rainy season, which starts in late September and peaks in October and November in the Andean and Caribbean regions. Its outlook still expects below-normal rainfall over much of the country, with local storms and flash floods possible.
Cartagena’s city hall tied Saturday’s rain to a trough and two low-pressure areas in the Caribbean, influenced by a stationary front north of the Greater Antilles, El Universal reported. The private forecaster iClima adds a tropical rain pulse known as the Madden-Julian Oscillation and links the frontal system to the extratropical low Josephine.
IDEAM adds that rain varies by region and by day as tropical waves pass, so a downpour can fall even when seasonal totals run low. In its note of 6 October the institute said El Niño “does not mean it stops raining” in Colombia.
What It Means for You
For US travellers, the near-term risk is local flooding rather than a nationwide emergency, because flash floods can block roads and fill streets within minutes in Cartagena, Santa Marta and Barranquilla. Local authorities urged residents not to cross flooded streets and to stay away from rivers, streams and canals.
In Cartagena, the water utility Aguas de Cartagena said a storm damaged a lightning rod and a transformer at its raw-water pumping system on Saturday, cutting supply to about 15% of users, including Pasacaballos, Barú, the Mamonal industrial zone, Nelson Mandela, Bellavista and Santa Clara. It later said the outage spread to other districts, that pumping had restarted on a backup power line with possible interruptions, and that it expects supply to normalise in the early hours of Sunday, 25 October.
The US State Department’s Colombia advisory is Level 3, “Reconsider Travel”, issued on 31 March 2026, and it lists natural disasters among its reasons without naming a flood risk in Santa Marta or Cartagena. Tayrona National Park near Santa Marta is already closed to visitors from 19 October to 2 November for a planned conservation break, and it is due to reopen on Tuesday, 3 November.
If You Are Travelling There
- Do not walk or drive through flooded streets, and keep away from rivers, streams and canals.
- Follow IDEAM alerts and the disaster offices of the city and department you are in.
- Check flights, tours and hotel bookings, because none of the accounts we read mentions an airport or port closure.
- Ask your hotel whether water supply is normal, because the Cartagena utility reported outages in several districts.
Read the companion piece in this cluster: Why Caribbean Colombia Floods So Fast. Both articles are updated from the same verified sources.
What Is Not Known
No full count of affected families, damaged homes or injuries has been published for Santa Marta, Cartagena or the wider coast, and none of the accounts we read confirms a death. Several accounts rely on residents’ videos while the city offices verify reports.
RCN, citing Cartagena’s risk office, linked the rain to a cyclone named Josephine, but the US National Hurricane Center’s advisories place that storm off the US East Coast on 21 and 22 October, so we do not treat a cyclone as the cause. IDEAM’s bulletins that we read do not name a single cause.
The city has not announced a new date for the Gran Malecón del Mar opening, and the size of the coming rain is uncertain. The private forecaster iClima warned on Saturday of high rainfall totals with the most intense period between Sunday and Monday, but its Sunday forecast for Cartagena expects weak to moderate showers of 10 to 20 millimetres (0.4 to 0.8 inches), and Montería’s city hall warned that wet weather could last until Tuesday, 27 October.
Damage to crops, roads and port operations has not been reported in the accounts we read, so any effect on exports is unknown. Cartagena’s city hall said its drainage project for Bocagrande and Castillogrande is still under construction without working final pumps, so its effect cannot yet be judged.
Connected Coverage
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Santa Marta declare a red alert?
Santa Marta’s city hall declared it on Saturday, 24 October 2026, after heavy rain flooded streets and IDEAM warned of flash floods on the Piedras and Manzanares rivers. A red alert is the highest warning level and calls for immediate action.
Is it safe to travel to Cartagena and Santa Marta now?
None of the official accounts we read closes either city to visitors, but flash floods can block roads within minutes. Avoid flooded streets, follow local alerts and confirm plans with airlines and hotels.
Was the Cartagena seafront opening cancelled?
Mayor Dumek Turbay suspended the opening of the first two kilometres of the Gran Malecón del Mar on Saturday because of the rain. The city says it will announce a new date.
Have people died in the floods?
No deaths have been confirmed in the accounts we read, and no full damage count has been published. Officials are still checking reports from several towns.
Will more rain fall on the Caribbean coast?
Yes, more showers are expected: iClima warned of its most intense rain between Sunday and Monday, though its Sunday forecast for Cartagena is weak to moderate rain. Montería’s city hall warned of wet weather until Tuesday, 27 October.
Does El Niño mean Colombia is in a drought?
IDEAM expects below-normal rain over much of Colombia in the coming months. That does not stop the October and November rainy season, so local floods can still happen.
Sources: IDEAM, hydrometeorological bulletin 892, 25 October 2026, 00:00, IDEAM, second rainy season and El Niño, IDEAM, El Niño declaration of 8 October 2026, Parques Nacionales Naturales, Tayrona closure, US State Department, Colombia travel advisory, Aguas de Cartagena, water supply notice, US National Hurricane Center, Subtropical Storm Josephine advisory 1, El Universal, regional balance, 24 October, El Universal, Cartagena neighbourhoods, El Universal, Malecón del Mar suspension, El Universal, forecast, El Tiempo live coverage, 24 October, Caracol Radio, Santa Marta red alert, Caracol Radio, city command post, Caracol Radio, affected families, Caracol Radio, Magdalena command post, Noticias RCN, El Heraldo, Barranquilla. All retrieved 25 October 2026. Photos: sergejf and Eli Duke via Flickr, archive images.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief