LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Heavy rains in Bolivia this month have killed at least 12 people, flooded crops and damaged roads, according to authorities.
Rainfall levels have surpassed records, and seven of Bolivia’s nine provinces have declared alerts for rain and flooding. The rainy season has just begun and it lasts until March.
Most of the people who have died were swept away by overflowing rivers, according to the Vice Ministry of Civil Defense.
Some houses in La Paz have collapsed during heavy rains. Dozens of families were forced to evacuate their homes because of the deluge in parts of Cochabamba province.
Marisol Portugal of the National Meteorology and Hydrology Service attributed the downpours to the La Niña weather phenomenon, which is causing more rainfall in the central Andes.
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