Torrential rains that fell over much of Bolivia left 13 dead and a thousand families affected, according to official figures released on Sunday. “There are more than 1,000 affected families, 13 people dead”, Declared the Deputy Minister of Civil Defense Juan Carlos Calvimontes on public radio and television.
Mr. Calvimontes indicated that the situation in the department of Santa Cruz (east) was “very critical”Due to the flooding of the Ichilo, Grande and Piraí rivers, whose waters flooded inhabited areas and agricultural land used for cereal and oilseed crops.
In the municipality of San Julián, 32 people who cannot be reached must be evacuated in the next few hours by air, added Mr. Calvimontes. The meteorological services have issued a warning against torrential rains in the departments of Potosí, Chuquisaca and Tarija in the south of the country. Television footage showed the swollen rivers in La Paz and Cochabamba.