RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The rains and floods in Bolivia have left at least thirteen people dead and more than 9,000 families affected, said Sunday the Deputy Minister of Civil Defense, Juan Carlos Calvimontes.
“We have the report of thirteen people dead, taking into account the initial seven who lost their lives in the municipality of Mapiri” in the north of La Paz last November, Calvimontes said in an interview with the state channel Bolivia TV.
According to the authority, some 55 municipalities in seven of Bolivia’s nine departments are suffering the effects of the floods, especially in the eastern region of Santa Cruz, the most populated and the country’s economic engine, where the situation “is critical”.
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So far, 8,148 families have been affected, and more than 1,000 people have been affected, explained Calvimontes, who usually clarifies that those affected suffer indirectly from the effects of the floods. In contrast, those affected have considerable losses and require humanitarian aid.
He also detailed that there are more than 3,000 hectares of crops “with considerable damage” and another 1,000 hectares “with total loss of production”, in addition to 5,000 head of cattle affected.
In addition, the rains damaged more than 400 houses, of which “some 80 are already irrecoverable,” and a plan to rebuild them will have to be considered, he added.
According to Calvimontes, one of the most recent events was the flooding of the Santa Cruz Grande, Piraí, Ichilo, and Cotoca rivers, the latter of which flooded the municipality of Pailón.
In the last few hours, the authority verified the magnitude of these overflows using an overflight in the area, which has caused “considerable” damages, especially to crops.
Four communities in the Santa Cruz municipality of San Julián were cut off, so in the next few hours, Calvimontes will arrive in these places with a Super Puma helicopter for the rescue and evacuation of 32 people trapped there by the floods.
The budget for the national emergency plan for the 2021 administration is equivalent to some US$9.4 million, and there is still a “considerable balance” that will allow attending the emergencies that continue to occur even during the first month of 2022, according to the official.
The rainy season in the country usually begins in November. It typically lasts until March, with greater intensity in January and February, although Calvimontes said that the intense storms were brought forward to December this time.
According to weather forecasts, “much more complex days” will come since the effect of the river floods will only be seen in a few weeks in the regions that for now are not being affected, warned the vice-minister.