Bolivia: Floods - Jan 2018

According to the orange alert released, this week the rains began with greater rigor since Monday, January 1, 2018, from a moderate to strong intensity. In general, there is still no significant impact on agricultural activity, although it is not ruled out that floods and overflows affect the main roads where agricultural products are transported. (Gov't of Bolivia, 4 Jan 2018)

The departmental director of The Emergency Operations Center (COE), Cristhian Cámara, reported on Thursday that two of the 19 municipalities of Beni declared themselves in emergency as a consequence of the floods due to the rains registered in that region. (Gov't of Bolivia, 12 Jan 2018)

The mayor of Trinidad, Mario Suarez, declared a red alert in that municipality on Thursday as a result of the floods caused by the rains and the overflow of rivers registered in that region, which left a balance of 109 families affected. (Gov't of Bolivia, 1 Feb 2018)

The intense and persistent rains have affected 17,000 families to date, Defense Minister Javier Zavaleta said on Friday, noting that the most complicated situations are in Zongo and Guanay, in the department of La Paz.
"At the national level, the rains left a partial balance of 17,000 families affected and 337 homes destroyed, and the owners of many of them are already applying for the Solidarity Housing Plan," he said in an interview with Bolivisión. Zavaleta explained that in the case of Guanay where yesterday the flood of the Mapiri River left 1,200 families affected, the damage has not yet been quantified, while in Zongo "there is no way to enter (by land) to bring aid". (Gov't of Bolivia, 23 Feb 2018)

On 14 March, the governor of the department of Chuquisaca informed that 8,500 families from the 25 municipalities of the department have been affected by hail storms, rains and floods since January 2018. (Gov't of Bolivia, 14 Mar 2018)