"Colombia is a country with high exposure to natural hazards, including cyclones, coastal and river flooding, earthquakes, landslides, and volcanoes. It has the highest recurrence of extreme hazard events in South America, with 84 percent of the population and 86 percent of assets exposed to two or more hazards.

The country’s tropical climate lends to heavy and frequent rains, a condition altered by El Niño and La Niña phenomena. The 2010–11 La Niña rainy season affected approximately 3.5 million people and caused unprecedented economic losses and damages from flash floods, landslides, and other hazard events. More recently in 2017 and 2018, a series of landslides and floods affected the country nationwide, leaving hundreds dead and thousands of livelihoods disrupted.  

Although hydro-meteorological events represent most disaster-related losses, 86 percent of the population live in medium- and high-risk seismic areas. With more than 20 active volcanoes, about 1.9 million people located in areas at-risk, of whom 240,000 at high risk.

Colombia has one of the highest urbanization rates in Latin America, with significant portions of the population living in poorly planned urban areas, informal settlements, and densely populated coastal areas. This, coupled with the effects of climate change, is exacerbating damages and losses caused by flooding and landslides. By 2060, the sea level on both coastlines (Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean) could increase by 40–60 centimeters from 1961–90 levels, putting millions of coastal inhabitants and gross domestic product at greater risk from flooding, storm surge and other natural hazards."