Floods threaten Venezuelan coast

The Venezuelan authorities have issued a state of alert in the coastal state of Vargas following torrential rainfall.

Hundreds of people have left their homes, roads are blocked and telephone lines brought down.

Four people are missing in the floods, in the same area where less than a year ago tens of thousands of people died in mudslides caused by the heavy rains.

The governor of the state of Vargas, Antonio Rodríguez, has appealed for calm.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service