Bolivia declares state of emergency as El Niño brings severe drought and floods

Sucre: Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency on Saturday, October 31, to free up resources to address the effects of the El Niño weather phenomenon, which has caused widespread devastation around the world.

In an address to the nation, Paz said the decree also called for the deployment of additional rescue teams to the worst-affected areas, as Bolivia grapples with both flooding and drought linked to El Niño.

"This phenomenon will have extremely serious consequences, including droughts and floods, and we need the cooperation of all institutions," Paz said.

A government report released this week found that drought had affected 78,000 families across six of Bolivia's nine departments and caused the loss of more than 75,000 head of cattle.