2002 La Paz floods

The city of La Paz presents a very complex topography. One of the factors that caused the floods was the collapse of the Choqueyapu River, since due to its poor structure in one of its points, and because it is a channel through which wastewater passes, it collapsed during heavy rains.

The structure that the city has is characterized by steep slopes and a geological substrate that alternates permeable and impermeable layers, favored the amplification of the accident.

Another factor that could cause this incident was the high vulnerability of the city, with intense occupation of risk areas and that it has buildings and infrastructure poorly prepared to face situations like this.

Lots of volunteers started joining the firefighters and the police efforts to relieve the extreme hail the city has received. Honda St. was considerably affected because the sewer system at that time couldn't withstand the 40cm of hail. As a result, a new sewer system was installed. Also, the street was leveled to prevent the effects of a future flood.^[2]

Lots of shops and street vendors lost their products. Official estimates point out that nearly 60 millions dollars were lost that day. Juan del Granado, mayor of La Paz, stated that relief efforts would go on for 10 days at least with 2000 workers deployed to help the many areas that were affected by the flood.

As a result of the flood, 200 families had to abandon their houses. However harsh, the flood didn't affect the whole city. Downtown and the south side of the city were the most affected, along with some north eastern areas of the city.[5]

Street markets, such as Uyustus, and Max Paredes were severely affected by the flood.

• Bolivia: Floods 2002 – Information Bulletin n° 1 – Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
• Granizada e inundación del 19 de febrero de 2002. Un modelo de crisis para la aglomeración de La Paz
• Bolivia: Decreto Supremo Nº 26504, 19 de febrero de 2002
• International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR)
• Extreme precipitation in La Paz.pdf
• El 19 de febrero de 2002 la noche se anticipó con luto y desnudó la inviabilidad de La Paz