Unprecedented
heavy rains have been lashing Bolivia since January 2006. In the highlands
alone rainfall has been nearly three times the annual average. Consequently
the highlands and the Amazon River basin have suffered severe flooding,
causing serious damage to houses, crops, roads and other basic infrastructure.
Rural families, who rely mainly on subsistence farming, have been
badly affected.
The most affected
areas are located in the departments of Santa Cruz and La Paz y Beni.
The government declared a state of emergency at the beginning of February
and appealed for international assistance. According to the latest
reports 33,856 families have been affected and 12,742 are in need
of humanitarian aid. To date 13 persons have died as a result of the
floods and 9,374 families have been evacuated. Some families have
taken refuge in tents in nearby communities, but others are simply
left to their own means.
ACT members in
Bolivia Lutheran World Relief (LWR) and the Methodist Church of
Bolivia have been assessing the situation. They report that the
most immediate needs are being covered by the Government with the
support of the UN agencies and other international contributions.
However, there are areas where people have not yet been reached as
the waters have not receded and it continues to rain. LWR, through
their partner Fundación Tierra, is planning to respond to the
situation in 5 severely affected communities in Santa Cruz. The Methodist
Church is planning to respond in 9 of the most affected communities
in La Paz. Both of them will provide immediate assistance through
food and non food relief items as well as inputs for agricultural
recovery. An ACT appeal is forthcoming.
The ACT CO kindly
requests that funding members inform us of possible contributions
to this appeal.
