London
27 °C
Manchester
Glasgow
Dublin
Belfast
Washington
28 °C
Denver
Atlanta
Dallas
Houston Texas
New Orleans
31 °C
El Paso
Phoenix
Los Angeles
24 °C
5 °C
25 °C
28 °C
Bolivia declares state of emergency to combat floods / Photo: © AFP
Bolivia declares state of emergency to combat floods
Bolivia's government decreed a state of emergency Wednesday to deal with floods caused by torrential rains blamed for 51 deaths since November.
President Luis Arce said about 380,000 families have been affected by the calamity in all nine of Bolivia's departments.
The state of emergency will allow the government to mobilize more emergency personnel for rescue operations, and to speed up the purchase of equipment.
Bolivia's rainy season runs from November to April, and last year claimed 55 lives.
The Alliance for Global Water Adaptation, an NGO that advises on policy, said in a report last year that "climate change is intensifying Bolivia's water vulnerabilities... increasing the frequency and severity of droughts and floods."
The country is also battling a crippling fuel shortage and has been in a deep economic rut since 2023.
M. dos Santos--JDB
