Bolivia: National emergency declared due to to heavy rains and flooding

AP reports the Bolivian government has declared a national emergency in response to heavy rains and flooding that have killed at least 10 people and affected some 22,000 families nationwide in recent weeks.

The declaration will allow the government to more quickly deliver aid to the five of the country's nine regions that have been affected by the flooding.

"We are declaring a national emergency across Bolivia in response to the effects of flooding, hailstorms, landslides and rivers breaking their banks," said a decree from President Evo Morales and his cabinet.

Flooding has so far been worst in the Santa Cruz region, but the government has expressed concern that the Beni region, where Bolivia's major rivers converge, could be seriously affected.

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