Bolivia declares state of emergency over El Nino

Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency on Oct 31 to free up resources for dealing with the impact of the El Nino weather phenomenon, wreaking havoc around the world.
The decree calls for deploying more rescue teams in hard-hit areas as Bolivia grapples with both flooding and drought because of El Nino, Paz said in an address to the nation.
“This phenomenon will have very severe impacts in terms of drought and floods, and we need the cooperation of all institutions,” he said.
Drought is affecting 78,000 families in six of the country’s nine departments and has led to the loss of more than 75,000 head of cattle, according to a government report this week.
The United Nations warned this week that the El Nino could have “unprecedented” strength that would bring havoc to Latin America, eastern and southern Africa, Asia and the Pacific.