During my trip to Barranquilla, we drove in under heavy rain and found the city overtaken by ‘arroyos’ or rivers formed when it rains and the water flows down the inclined streets. Most Colombian cities are laid-out in a grid fashion with Calles (East-West) and Carreras (North-South) so while this makes getting places fairly easy, it also makes arroyos possible…well, that and the fact that the country has cities ( Barranquilla takes 1st prize) with some hills just like any other place in the world. The solution? Go left to right or right to left and not up nor down…that means it’s not uncommon to see cars on the wrong side of the road during arroyos. The following video shows what can happen when it rains there…
“Barranquilla in Colombia is the most important coastal city with a distinct characteristic: no rainwater drainage systems, so whenever it rains, the whole city floods with dangerous fast running rivers (called arroyos) replacing roads. On the following videos, taxis, cars and even buses float by on the streets as other citizens try to lend a helping hand to keep them from getting away.
The dangerous situations arising from the “arroyos”, are a result of bad city planning, no drainage systems, not enough clearance on the sides of creeks before building and the risky behaviour of those who try to brave the current. Following, some videos of these impressive forces of nature that take control over the most important city of the Caribbean coast.” – Source (more of the article and videos here)
Tags: arroyos, barranquilla, calles, carreras, eyes on colombia, rainy season
