Bolivia Flood 2015 News: Flooding Forces Over 4,000 to Evacuate, Mayor to Decide to 'Rebuild a New Town'
Major flooding has driven more than 4,000 people from their homes in the town of Cobija in northern Bolivia.
Vice-President Alvaro Garcia Linera, having traveled to Cobija on Tuesday to deliver aid to the town, stated that some of the neighborhoods located closest to the river river Acre, which has burst, would have to be moved, according to the BBC. He promised that the Bolivian government would help to relocate their residents.
Romulo Terrazas, the mayor of San Pedro de Bolpebra, a town on the border with Peru and Brazil, said his town was almost completely swept away by flood waters.
"The river waters rose to 14 meters [46 feet] above their normal level, so between the community and the authorities we have decided to rebuild a new town to avoid more damage," Terrazas said.
Jhenny Huasimave, a resident of Cobija, explained to the La Razon newspaper, as reported by the BBC, that she had lost "almost everything" and was now having to stay in a shelter in a local sports center.
Huasimave described the desperate situation she and her fellow flood victims are in.
"We're looking after the little we have left and are sleeping in the stands,” Huasimave said. "Our situation is a sad one, it's too crowded, we need help."
Vice-President Garcia has announced that the government would send more help in the coming hours.
Last February, the area suffered a major flooding that ruined crops and swept vipers and anacondas through half-submerged villages.
“Some people were saying it was the end of the world," a chief of the Capaina community that was affected said according to The Guardian. “We were flooded as never before and left under a metre and a half of water. The waters killed our crops -- bananas, cassava, pineapples, avocados, everything -- as well as our pigs, ducks and chickens.”
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