Colombia evacuates nearly 5,000 people amid fears dam may burst

A girl is pictured at a tent camp at the municipal coliseum after the Colombian government ordered the evacuation of residents living along the Cauca river, as construction problems at a hydroelectric dam prompted fears of massive flooding, in Valdivia, Colombia May 18, 2018. REUTERS/Fredy Builes

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia has ordered the evacuation of nearly 5,000 people living along the Cauca river in the northern part of the country after construction problems at a hydroelectric dam prompted fears of massive flooding.

Heavy rains have increased water levels in the Cauca, which feeds the Ituango Dam in Antioquia province, the country's largest-ever hydroelectric project. Problems with filling mechanisms and tunnels at the dam have authorities on high alert.

"We are working jointly with all institutions on the worst-case scenario, which is the breaking of the dam, which would provoke a huge flood in down-river municipalities," said Jorge Londono, the head of Empresas Publicas de Medellin, the public utility company that owns the dam.

A woman rides his horse along the street at the municipal coliseum after the Colombian government ordered the evacuation of residents living along the Cauca river, as construction problems at a hydroelectric dam prompted fears of massive flooding, in Valdivia, Colombia May 18, 2018. REUTERS/Fredy Builes

"That's a catastrophic scenario," Londono added.

The dam, which has not yet begun power generation, has cost nearly $4 billion to build and is meant to generate 17 percent of Colombia's electricity needs. A total of 4,985 people from down-river areas were moved to shelters away from the flood zone, the Andean country's disaster agency said in a statement.

Some 200,000 people live in the 12 towns and populated areas in Antioquia, Bolivar, Cordoba and Sucre provinces that could eventually be affected by possible flooding, authorities said.

People are pictured at a tent camp at the municipal coliseum after the Colombian government ordered the evacuation of residents living along the Cauca river, as construction problems at a hydroelectric dam prompted fears of massive flooding, in Valdivia, Colombia May 18, 2018. REUTERS/Fredy Builes

(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Will Dunham)

People rest at a tent camp at the municipal coliseum after the Colombian government ordered the evacuation of residents living along the Cauca river, as construction problems at a hydroelectric dam prompted fears of massive flooding, in Valdivia, Colombia May 18, 2018. REUTERS/Fredy Builes

A man rides his horse along the river at the municipal coliseum after the Colombian government ordered the evacuation of residents living along the Cauca river, as construction problems at a hydroelectric dam prompted fears of massive flooding, in Valdivia, Colombia May 18, 2018. REUTERS/Fredy Builes

People rest in tents set up at the municipal coliseum after the Colombian government ordered the evacuation of residents living along the Cauca river, as construction problems at a hydroelectric dam prompted fears of massive flooding, in Valdivia, Colombia May 17, 2018. REUTERS/Fredy Builes

People rest on the floor of the municipal coliseum after the Colombian government ordered the evacuation of residents living along the Cauca river, as construction problems at a hydroelectric dam prompted fears of massive flooding, in Valdivia, Colombia May 17, 2018. REUTERS/Fredy Builes

People rest at the municipal coliseum after the Colombian government ordered the evacuation of residents living along the Cauca river, as construction problems at a hydroelectric dam prompted fears of massive flooding, in Valdivia, Colombia May 17, 2018. REUTERS/Fredy Builes

A soldier speaks to people resting in a tent at the municipal coliseum after the Colombian government ordered the evacuation of residents living along the Cauca river, as construction problems at a hydroelectric dam prompted fears of massive flooding, in Valdivia, Colombia May 17, 2018. REUTERS/Fredy Builes

A woman sits inside a tent at the municipal coliseum after the Colombian government ordered the evacuation of residents living along the Cauca river, as construction problems at a hydroelectric dam prompted fears of massive flooding, in Valdivia, Colombia May 17, 2018. REUTERS/Fredy Builes