A landslide destroyed at least 40 homes in a neighborhood near the center of La Paz, Bolivia's capital. No personal injuries were recorded because residents had previously been evacuated, authorities told local media.
The slide of mud and debris mixed with the remains of an old garbage dump at one end of the Sopocachi neighborhood,
some 200 meters from the residence of President Evo Morales, extended to Kantutani Avenue, the main connection between the center and the southern residential area, which was interrupted.
The urban cable car temporarily suspended the operation of the line that passes over the site of the disaster, while firefighters, police, military personnel and municipal officials collaborated in the evacuation of houses that were also at risk of collapse.
"There are about six hectares affected, at least 40 homes destroyed by the landslide," local police commander Colonel Clemente Silva told reporters. He added that the evacuation had begun on the weekend, when the first small landslides were detected in the area.
Until four decades ago, the area housed a garbage dump in which dozens of houses were built and even the municipality set up an avenue, despite the prohibition of construction.
Defense Minister Javier Zavaleta told the local press at the site of the disaster that President Morales has given priority attention to the affected population, beginning with the installation of temporary shelters. "Fortunately, there are no reports of injured people because an evacuation was in progress," said Zavaleta.
For his part, the mayor of La Paz, Luis Revilla, reported in a press release that because of the intense rain registered during the morning of Tuesday there was a "strong infiltration of water in the crevices of the landslide last weekend.
Bolivia has endured heavy rains in April, an unusual phenomenon in a month usually mild and dry between summer and winter.
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