Rainy season in Bolivia destructive

Associated Press image

The news from La Paz at the end of February wasn't all good. This la nina rainy season has been creating challenges across large parts of Bolivia. Flooding and mud slides have destroyed houses, people have become homeless. Most recently the news from La Paz, the large city built at the edge of the Altiplano, Bolivia's impressive high sierra sitting at 4,000m altitude, and reaching down the mountain sides into a valley at 3,000m, has seen bucking roads, and mud slides destroying hundreds of houses.

There have been no death reported. People self-evacuated when the saturated hillside started to move and the roads started to buckle.

Our first glimpse of La Paz in November 2010. Every inch
of the hill sides have houses, often right to the edge of the
sharply dropping sides. 

Here are a couple of articles in English that give a sense of what the local people are dealing with.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/massive-mudslides-in-la-paz-leave-older-people-homeless

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=134107477

Spending a month in Bolivia left us with a sense of a resilient people, helpful people despite the daily difficulties due to poverty. I imagine the community will help those affected and the public services seem to be responding quickly. Best wishes to Bolivians as you deal with this challenge and best wishes for finding new homes and basic necessities quickly again.