Four people are known to have died and another six, including three children, are missing after a series of flash floods hit the city of Sucre in Oropeza Province, Bolivia, at about 6.45 pm local time on Tuesday 5 January 2020. About ten cars were swept away during the flood, and many of the cities street traders have lost all their goods. A number of people have been treated in hospitals for hypothermia. The flooding was preceded by a hail storm which lasted about half an hour.
Flooding is common during the Bolivian rainy season, and these can be particularly problematic in urban areas, where paved roads prevent water from draining into the ground. Large cities, such as Sucre, are in theory protected by an extensive system of storm drains, but concerns have been raised about the maintenance of this system in Sucre, where many of the drains appear blocked by rubbish and other debris.
The Bolivian Rainy Season, typically lasts from November to March, driven by high evaporation over the Pacific Ocean during the southern summer, which falls as rain when air currents coming from the ocean are pushed upwards as they encounter the Andes Mountains, causing the air to cool and lose its moisture, with peak rainfall in January and February.
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