Bolivia declares nationwide emergency as El Niño brings drought and floods

Bolivia declared a nationwide state of emergency on Saturday as El Niño conditions brought severe drought to some regions and flooding to others. President Rodrigo Paz signed a decree allowing the government to mobilize public funds, personnel and international cooperation, while emergency teams continued evacuations and supply deliveries.

A government report cited by Bolivia TV said drought had affected more than 78,000 families across six of the country’s nine departments and killed more than 75,000 cattle. Al Jazeera reported further rescue deployments in flood-hit areas. Those totals describe reported impacts at the time of the decree and may rise as local assessments are consolidated. El Niño changes rainfall patterns across the tropical Pacific, but the scale of damage also depends on water management, land use and preparedness.

Officials said less than 70,000 hectares had burned during the current fire campaign, compared with more than 200,000 hectares in the previous year. That comparison does not lessen the immediate water and livestock crisis. The emergency declaration matters because it centralizes procurement and coordination; its effectiveness will be judged by whether isolated communities receive water, food and veterinary support before the next extremes intensify.