Heavy rains cause floods in 5 Bolivian municipalities near Cochabamba

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The city of Cochabamba, capital of the region of the same name, and the municipalities of Tiquipaya, Colcapirhua, Cliza and Arbieto have been affected by flooding and overflowing of rivers, streams and irrigation canals, damaging homes and agricultural crops, the Ministry of Defense reported Monday (29) in a Facebook post.

The level of the Taquiña river in Tiquipaya is low, but secondary bridges were blocked causing the river to overflow, the Ministry of Defense said.

The department’s Risk Management Unit and municipal brigades are working with military support in the lower area of the Taquiña watershed, according to the same source.

The power of the Taquiña river broke the water pipes of the Misicuni dam, which supplies several districts of Cochabamba, lamented the city mayor Manfred Reyes Villa.

The official also explained that several flooding emergencies were addressed in numerous parts of the city and said that preventive measures have been underway “for some time” in preparation for the rainy season, among them, the cleaning of watercourses.

“We are looking for mechanisms so that this won’t happen next year, as we only came into office in May. We have several structural projects to prevent this,” he said.

Reyes Villa stated that he will coordinate with the mayors’ offices of the neighboring municipalities of Quillacollo and Colcapirhua for a “joint effort” to address emergencies.

One of the most affected places by the floods was Cliza, whose urban and rural areas were flooded by rivers and ditches due to the rainfall on Sunday. The municipal authorities of Cliza are in the risk areas assessing the damage caused to homes and crops, according to a statement from the mayor’s office.

A river adjacent to the Circunvalación avenue flooded the city’s urban center, while the Cliza and Jayuma tributaries flooded several communities and the western part of the municipality, with water reaching 1.5 meters in several houses, according to the same source.

Cliza’s Mayor’s Office has deployed machinery and light vehicles to provide assistance to the affected families, with the support of the Bolivian Navy and the Special Troops Instruction Center (CITE).

The Vice-Ministry of Civil Defense assured that tools and equipment have been sent to provide assistance and evacuate families in the event of river overflows.

Three weeks ago there was an overflow in a gold mining area in the north of La Paz that left 5 dead, including a Colombian national, and 2 missing.

The rainy season in the country typically begins in November and runs through March, with the heaviest rains in January and February.