Rains wreak havoc in Bolivia’s Santa Cruz department

Bolivia’s Santa Cruz department is being battered once again by heavy rains that have caused damage to infrastructure and are expected to result in severe crop losses. 

As of Thursday, hundreds of families had been affected by the rains across the department, deputy civil defense minister Juan Carlos Calvimontes told RTP Bolivia, adding more municipalities could be affected in the coming days.

Authorities in Cuatro Cañadas reported that the rains had resulted in blocked roads and requested machinery from the central government to clear them. 

Flooding and low temperatures have damaged around 45,000 hectares of crops, the head of the country’s eastern agriculture chamber (CAO), José Luis Farah, was quoted as saying by Red Uno. 

The country’s rural development and land ministry has not confirmed the figures, but it is currently surveying the area to quantify the damages, it said in a release.

Santa Cruz and other departments were also hit by heavy rains earlier this year, which prompted clashes between local and national authorities over their respective responsibilities in responding.