Off the wire
• Feature: Brother of killed Egyptian driver seeks equal treatement as Mexican victims  • U.S. dollar falls ahead of Fed statement  • China embassy donates items to flood victims in Mozambique  • China cuts U.S. treasuries holdings in July  • Foreign exchange rate of Euro to other currencies  • Roundup: PM's rare TV speech offers no immediate way out of Finnish conflict  • Germany's benchmark DAX index closes up  • Obama expects to complete Asia-Pacific trade deal this year  • Feature: A "China" tour at UN headquarters  • China signs deal with National Geographic, IDG to promote Chinese culture  
You are here: 　 Home

Bolivia taps up 50 million U.S. dollars to fend off El Nino

Xinhua, September 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

Bolivia has made 50 million U.S. dollars available for a program in rural areas that will suffer from El Nino, which is estimated to be strong from November to March, official said Wednesday.

The program is to preserve agricultural resources, with 18 million U.S. dollars for prevention and 32 million for rehabilitation.

The preparations will include cleaning drainage trenches and establishing an early warning system to protect all agricultural areas, said Oscer Cabrera, Bolivian Vice Minister of Social Defence.

El Nino, according to a research done by the government, is likely to affect eight of Bolivia's nine departments where strong rain and flooding is expected in 48 municipalities, and drought in 45 municipalities.

The country's ministries of public works, economy, defence, health, education, agriculture and environment have already elaborated an emergency plan.

El Nino battered Bolivia in 2007 and 2008, affecting 200,000 families and causing over 450 million U.S. dollars in damage, according to statistics from the Ministry of Social Defence. Enditem