14 towns affected by floods, 5 by drought, 1 by fire

The towns of El Torno, Lagunillas, Kereimba Iyambae, Charagua (Parapitiguasu and Bajo Isoso), Camiri, Postrervalle, Moro Moro, Samaipata, Quirusillas, El Puente, Yapacani, San Julián and Santa Rosa del Sara have been declared disasters due to flooding and excessive rainfall, while Ascención de Guarajos has also issued a flood alert, but has not yet declared one.

Meanwhile, drought disasters were declared in Lagunillas, Cuervo, Cabezas, San Julian, Four Canadas and Puerto Suarez. The latter municipality also issued a fire declaration.

Likewise, San Miguel, San Jose and Robole are experiencing worsening drought, but so far they have not officially declared a disaster.

These data are extracted from the latest report of the Santa Cruz government on emergencies and disasters in the sector.

At least six of the above groups have not yet submitted the documents required to obtain assistance from higher authorities because the capacity of each government has been exceeded.

“When a disaster is declared by the municipality, the Government of Autonomous Department (GAD) intervenes and this is done by putting together a folder,” they explained in that instance.

Although the department of Ángel Sandoval, and especially San Matías, is suffering from severe water shortages, this did not appear in the disaster declaration, nor did the province of San Miguel de Velasco, where some communities have already distributed water from tanks, as in Lomerio.

Reports from the government’s Forest Fire Early Warning System (SATIF) show that as of July 2, there were 42 fires in Santa Cruz, San Ignacio de Velasco, San Matías, Carmen Rivero Torres, Puerto Suarez and Puerto Quijaro.

In just two days in July, there were more than 2,000 heat sources.

The department’s Water Management Division, part of the government’s Secretariat of the Environment, reported on the maintenance of 12 wells in five communities in the Lomerio district: Santa Anita, Santa Rosita, San Rafaelitó de Lomerio, San Pedro de Capachó and in San Juan de Lomerio.

Likewise, GAD deployed forest firefighting teams to the departments of Chiquitos, Velasco, German Busch, Ángel Sandoval, and Uflore de Chavez to train and mentor community firefighters in these areas identified as having the highest incidence of fires.

Through 29 firefighting technical training sessions, the community added nearly a thousand new firefighters.