Bolivia counts storm damage

Many have lost their homes and businesses

By Andrew Enever in La Paz

One week after a freak hailstorm devastated Bolivia's capital, La Paz, the city is still trying to cope with the fallout.

The death toll stands at over 60 with another 35 people still unaccounted for and hope for their survival fading.

The water washed everything away, it left us with nothing

Maria Luisa Rios Galbarro

The municipal and national governments are facing up to the challenge of repairing infrastructure and helping the thousands who have lost their homes and businesses.

At the same time, the health ministry has put the country on health alert amid fears that contaminated drinking waters could lead to an outbreak of intestinal diseases.

Arena shelter

The storm which ripped through the city last Tuesday wrecked neighbourhoods high up on the east side of the valley, destroying as many as 80 houses.

Over 400 people have taken shelter in La Paz's indoor sports arena

While some of those left homeless have taken refuge with neighbours or family, over 400 people have spent the last week living in La Paz's indoor sports arena.

The luckier ones have secured bunk bed space in three tightly packed dormitories housing about 50 people each, but the majority are sleeping on mattresses on concrete floors in the passages around the main auditorium.

The arena has become a focal point for public sympathy with thousands of people bringing donations of food and clothes, which now lie in piles on the central court.

In one corner, a tiny makeshift kitchen is turning out over 1,000 meals a day, as others who have lost their businesses swell the numbers of residents in the food queues.

With millions already needed to fix roads, put up or stabilise buildings, reinforce river banks and get people back into their homes and working, it has to be wondered where all the money is going to come from

But as the numbers grow, the sanitary facilities become ever more stretched and volunteers manning the stadium are encouraging those whose houses are not destroyed to return with their families.

"Maybe 30-40% of the people sleeping here are small stall holders who still have a house to return to," explains volunteer coordinator Edgar Torres.

"But they have lost all of their business capital and have no way to earn money to feed themselves."

The fear of going home

Some of those being asked to leave are unhappy about going.

Fifty-year-old Maria Luisa Rios Galbarro is dreading the move back to her house, which she described as a "rubbish tip".

A river close to her house burst its banks last Tuesday and poured straight through her front door.

She was at home with eight of her grandchildren, one of whom was born only three days earlier.

"The water washed everything away, it left us with nothing," she said, breaking down in front of us.

"I am a widow and my father is 70, so I am the provider for the family. But I have nothing left to give my children and grandchildren."

Maria's is one of over 1,000 families who will now be relying on support from the solidarity fund.

The mayor's office and central government are hoping through donations and international support to offer a fund of $300,000 to repair homes and replace lost capital for small businesses.

'Forgotten'

High up in the north-east of the city, the zone of Vino Tinto has been heavily affected.

Two residents showed me their houses which have large cracks in the walls, holes in the ceilings, and in one case three destroyed rooms now filled with mud.

The zone of Vino Tinto has been heavily affected by the freak storm

Further down the hill is the grim wreckage of other houses where three unfortunate people were trapped and killed.

But stuck on the periphery of the city, the residents here feel they are being overlooked.

Mother of two, Gregoria Jimenez, is still in her small house even though the continuing rains raise danger of landslides.

"No one from the municipality has even come here to inspect the damage and verify if new housing is needed," she said. "They forget us up here."

Fixing the damage

Following the damage caused by the storm, the cost of these repairs could be too much to bear.

The mayor's office estimates that such improvements would cost between $60m and $70m.

"We have to look for the money that will allow us to reconstruct the circulatory system of the city," commented Mayor Juan del Granado.

And with millions already needed to fix roads, put up or stabilise buildings, reinforce river banks and get people back into their homes and working, it has to be wondered where all the money is going to come from.