Bolivia declares emergency over El Niño floods and drought

Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency on October 31 to release resources for areas hit by El Niño-related drought and flooding.

Paz said the decree would also allow more rescue teams to be sent to hard-hit areas. He said Bolivia needed cooperation across institutions because the weather phenomenon would have “very severe impacts” from both drought and floods.

A government report this week said drought was affecting 78,000 families in six of Bolivia's nine departments and had led to the loss of more than 75,000 cattle.

El Niño warms surface waters in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, changing wind, pressure and rainfall patterns. The United Nations warned this week that the current El Niño could reach “unprecedented” strength and bring disruption to Latin America, eastern and southern Africa, Asia and the Pacific.