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Chavez Creates Floods Task Force
President Hugo Chavez toured parts of flood-hit southwestern Venezuela, visiting shelters and comforting some of the 50,000 people who have been displaced by overflowing rivers. Chavez said he was setting up a national task force to channel donations of food, clothing and medicine to the cities of Barinas and San Cristobal -- closest to the flood zone -- for local distribution. He also set up a $3 million relief fund. Four days after overflowing rivers began inundating towns, ``it's urgent to increase the (aid) flow,'' Chavez said before leaving Guasdualito for Caracas, 375 miles to the northeast. ``I want to express my support for the people of southern Venezuela who are suffering these blows from nature,'' Chavez said. Chavez urged desperate residents not to use contaminated floodwater for drinking or bathing. ``The most important thing is to work together and stay calm,'' Chavez said. ``Be very careful. There are a lot of children in danger because they are bathing in sewage.'' Thousands of peasants lined roads under the tropical sun, begging passers-by for food and water. ``We've had nothing to eat. No water. We are desperate,'' said Jose Colmenares, a 28-year-old laborer who has lived with his family on the shoulder of a highway since their home was flooded on Monday. Weeks of rain caused rivers in Apure to overflow their banks, submerging villages and creating lakes of stagnant water filled with dead animals, trash and sewage. Hundreds of children and the elderly have suffered respiratory ailments, diarrhea and other maladies that doctors blame on the fetid waters. Four people were electrocuted and a girl drowned. An estimated 50,000 people were forced out of their homes or lost them entirely, said Apure Gov. Luis Lippa. Air Force C-130 aircraft delivered tons of water, food, clothing and medicine from Caracas. Officials sent in 1,000 soldiers, 150 National Guardsmen and secret police agents to deter looting. They used boats and dinghies for their patrols. Several hundreds refugees were flown by the military to nearby Barinas and Tachira states. Army engineers repaired roads and bridges, and Red Cross workers set up medical centers. Close to 15,000 people were evacuated from Guasdualito, population 25,000. About 5,000 people were living in army shelters, though many others refused to leave the roofs of their homes, fearing looting, said army Gen. Carlos Acosta. The extent of the damage was unknown. Officials planned a survey of the damage to help the federal government allocate aid, said Alejandro Andrade, head of a government social fund. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging
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