Snowstorm devastates Peru and Bolivia
Source: Lutheran World Relief (LWR)
Date: 31 Jul 2002
Baltimore, July 31, 2002 - It's winter in the southern hemisphere, and parts of Peru and Bolivia are buried under as much as three feet of snow, creating an emergency to which Lutheran World Relief (LWR) is responding with its local partners.
Snow and temperatures as low as -5 degrees Fahrenheit have killed more than 60 people as well as cattle and other livestock. (More than 50,000 llamas and alpacas have died in Bolivia; see photos at <www.lwr.org>.). More than 20,000 adobe houses with straw roofs have collapsed or been badly damaged in Peru alone. The only source of heat, stored firewood, is now damp from the snow. Crops and pastures have been destroyed. Most people who live in the zones of the worst weather are poor farmers and their families who depend on income from livestock The weather has caused increased pulmonary illness particularly among children and elderly.
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