La Paz, December 13 (EFE). – The Bolivian government confirmed on Saturday that at least three people died, 18 were missing and 17 were injured as a result of flooding in the Santa Cruz region, the country’s most populous region.
“Unfortunately, we currently have to report three deaths in Santa Cruz, 18 missing and 17 people receiving medical attention,” presidential spokeswoman Carla Faval told state broadcaster Bolivia TV.
Faval indicated that it was possible to evacuate 148 minors who were in the Orientation and Social Reintegration Center (Cenvicruz) for youth in the municipality of El Torno, which was most affected by the flooding of the Piraí River this morning.
He also assured that the national government has been operating in the affected areas since dawn, when the regional government of Santa Cruz was contacted to report the damage.
The spokesman announced that President Rodrigo Paz would travel to El Torno this Sunday to coordinate actions with the Incident Command Center (CCI) installed in that municipality, and would also bring “donations” to the affected families.
El Torno is located about 32 kilometers southwest of the city of Santa Cruz, capital of the region of the same name, and is crossed by the Piraí River, one of the region’s main rivers, which burst its banks this morning due to the heavy rains that fell in the area since last night, causing historic flooding of several tributaries.
According to EFE, the military, police, Santa Cruz governorate officials and the El Torno mayor’s office are working to rescue isolated people, including some injured, with helicopter flights in at least three municipalities.
Faval pointed out that 17 people were rescued by helicopter that day, and indicated that two more aircraft of this type will also help in the rescue operations in the area.
According to the spokesman, the national government’s measures to address the emergency are coordinated between the ministries of Interior, Defense and Health, as well as entities such as the state-owned Yacimientos Petrolófilos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB).
The peace office said in a press release that a “crisis and situation room” had been ordered to be set up in the government palace, which would act as “a strategic center for command, control and decision-making.”
The room, led by the president, will consist of ministers, deputy ministers, senior military and police officials, and technical and operational officials who are “necessary” to “organize, articulate and mobilize all state resources in direct support of the affected population,” the office stated.
Additionally, the facility will maintain “direct and real-time coordination” with the CCI and Santa Cruz’s Departmental Emergency Operations Committee (COED) to ensure “an organized, efficient response without duplication,” he added.
A month ago, the rains caused emergencies in the municipality of Samaipata, also in Santa Cruz.
During the last rainy season in Bolivia, more than 601,000 people were affected, 97,506 families were affected, 2,416 houses were destroyed and 7,094 houses were affected.
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