Bolivia declares state of emergency over El Nino weather pattern

Bolivia has declared a nationwide state of emergency to free up resources to deal with the effects of the El Nino weather phenomenon. Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz signed the decree on Saturday, which also called for further deployments of rescue teams in areas of the country hard hit by flooding and drought. El Nino will have “very severe impacts in terms of drought and floods”, Paz said, adding that Bolivia needs “the cooperation of all institutions”. Drought is now affecting 78,000 families in six of Bolivia’s nine departments and has led to the loss of more than 75,000 cattle, according to a government report this week. Bolivia is also prone to flooding. In December 2025, floods in the Santa Cruz region killed dozens of people.