Bolivia floods kill 35; 350,000-plus homeless

LA PAZ, Bolivia — Bolivia’s worst floods in 25 years have killed at least 35 people and driven more than 350,000 from their homes. International aid has begun to arrive in the country where intense seasonal rains left approximately 600,000 acres underwater. Up to 300,000 head of cattle may be drowned and families forced from their houses may be homeless for up to three months, according to Mission Network News. More than 1,600 cases of dengue fever and 1,400 cases of malaria have been reported. Water supplies also have been contaminated, and much of the region’s crops have been destroyed. Many communities have been completely cut off.

Floodwaters have destroyed family gardens and washed out their banana groves, placing people in tribal areas in danger of facing real hunger, said Nita Zelenak of New Tribes Mission.