The most affected territory during the past week was Tarija. | Photo: ABI

La Paz, February 24 (RHC)-- Bolivia's Deputy Minister of Civil Defense Juan Carlos Calvimontes said that one-third of the 340 municipalities of Bolivia had been affected by various disasters.

The Government of Bolivia reported on Wednesday that 35 people have died, 25 are missing, and more than 75,000 families have been affected by the rains that have taken place in the country in recent days.

The most affected territory during the past week was Tarija, where at least 16 people were identified as missing, and the total loss of homes in the communities of Ñaurenda, Tomatirenda, Mokomokal, Timboy, and Filadelfia.

Bolivian President Luis Arce said: "We will spare neither resources nor efforts to assist the families affected by the flood in Entre Ríos, Tarija (south).  We are sending food and supplies (...), in addition to a new contingent of search and rescue teams for the missing persons."}

The Bolivian leader insisted on deploying heavy machinery under the coordination of the Bolivian Highway Administration to carry out the cleaning work and to be able to manage the mobility of people and vehicles in the affected area.

On Tuesday, February 22, as a result of the rains, a school collapsed in Yungas, north of La Paz. This disaster caused the disappearance of a teacher under the rubble.

Deputy Minister of Civil Defense Juan Carlos Calvimontes said that a third of the 340 municipalities of Bolivia had been affected by various disasters caused by the rains in the last two months and that 51 of them were in a disaster situation.

"The national emergency system is on high alert because what is coming are floods in the eastern lowlands as a result of heavy rains in the western Andean region," stated Calvimontes.