Attachments
Date of event
14-12-2025
What happened, where and when?
On 13 December 2025, intense and prolonged rainfall in Santa Cruz caused the overflow of the Piraí River and its tributaries, leading to rapid-onset flooding across several municipalities. The most affected areas include El Torno, La Guardia, Warnes, Montero, General Saavedra, Mineros, Porongo, and Colpa Bélgica. Bridge and housing failures left some communities isolated.
In Bolivia, the combined effects of the El Niño and La Niña climate phenomena have intensified rainfall patterns in the Amazon basin and inter-Andean valleys. According to the National Meteorology and Hydrology Service (SENAMHI), above-average precipitation was recorded across much of eastern Bolivia during 2025, contributing to river overflows, flooding, loss of livelihoods, and human casualties.
These compounded climate factors have significantly increased flood risks in productive municipalities such as El Torno.
By 19 December 2025, official sources confirmed 20 fatalities, 20 missing persons, and 3,000 affected families, with over 500 people evacuated. The Departmental Health Service (SEDES) reported 567 medical consultations, mainly for hypothermia and trauma.
The Government activated a crisis cabinet, declared emergencies at municipal and departmental levels, and deployed SAR-FAB and rescue brigades. The SENAMHI Red Alert (15–17 December) was downgraded to Orange Alert, which remains active until 22 December. SEARPI identified 198 critical points, concentrated in the Río Grande and Piraí basins, signaling widespread risk.
On 14 December, the Departmental Government declared a disaster (Decree No. 512), followed by municipal declarations in El Torno, Porongo, and Warnes. While the disaster has been declared at the departmental level, there is no national declaration yet; a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is scheduled for 23 December to assess escalation to a national emergency, as reported by the Humanitarian Country Team.
As of the date of this report, the situation has not been declared a national emergency. The meeting between the Humanitarian Country Team and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, originally planned for 23 December to assess a possible national-level declaration, was postponed due to social unrest linked to newly announced economic measures.