Crisis talks over Bolivian floods

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The Bolivian government has called an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the floods in much of the country.

Almost every department in Bolivia has been hit in some way by heavy rains over the past few months, affecting an estimated 350,000 people.

Many thousands of those people have had their homes completely destroyed by landslides and flooding.

Others are cut off from the emergency services, or have had their crops and livestock washed away.

Over the weekend, government ministers visited eight of the nine affected regions of Bolivia to report back to President Evo Morales in an emergency meeting.

On his return from the north-eastern department of Beni, the Bolivian defence minister, Walker San Miguel, described the situation there as highly worrying.

Precarious

Almost half of the department's eight regions are flooded, and the latest government figures show that at least 14,000 families have been forced from their homes or had their houses damaged by the rains.

Most worrying though is the precarious state of the river banks, particularly on the very swollen River Mamore.

Beni is a conduit for most of Bolivia's rains and emergency planners believe that if the Mamore's banks burst, the entire department would flood.

The capital of Beni, the city of Trinidad, is in terrible condition.

The mayor of Trinidad, Moises Shriqui, said that over 8,000 people have been badly affected by the rains, with almost 6,000 in temporary shelters such as schools and community centres.

Foreign aid

But the remainder have not left their homes despite the dangers, for fears that their possessions might be stolen.

The rains are believed to have been caused by the seasonal El Nino weather patterns.

President Morales has called for international assistance which is beginning to come in now.

The first tonnes of aid, including tents and emergency supplies, are being despatched to the worst-hit areas.