OCHA Situation Report No. 3
Bolivia - Landslide
25 April 2003
1. The landslide occurred on 31 March, in Chima, a gold mining settlement in the municipality of Tipuani, located 250 km from La Paz. The Government of Bolivia has made an international appeal for assistance and has requested UNDP to coordinate the assistance granted by donors for this disaster.
2. According to the latest information provided by the UN Resident Coordinator's office, the final figures on the impact of this emergency are as follows:
|People affected||690 (376 are children)|
|People to be relocated||300|
|Houses lost||116 houses totally destroyed and 33 partially destroyed|
3. At the moment, temporary shelters are still being used to house those who lost their homes.
4. On 17 of April the final geomorphic study was presented by a technical assessment team composed of the Geological Service of Bolivia (SERGEOMIN), the Mexican Disaster Prevention Center and the Canadian Cooperation. This study concludes that the disaster was caused by: complex landslides in rotational layers; heavy rains; rocks highly fractured; construction of explorative channel pipes that produced four deep rocks cracking; use of explosives; subterraneous and superficial perforations. The landslide comprised approximately 210,000 tons of material. Similar landslides have occurred in nearby areas due to mining activities.
5. The study also determines that there is a high probability of new landslides occurring in the same area in the very near future, as well as possible river overflows. Hence, the assessment mission strongly recommends that immediate previsions must be taken in order to relocate the settlement of Chima. It also recommends a temporary suspension of mining activities in the area.
6. After immediate response, there is still a need to provide assistance for the temporary shelter of affected people. The assistance required includes:
- kitchen stoves and gas containers
- diesel and gasoline fuel
7. This situation report, together with further information on ongoing emergencies, is also available on the OCHA Internet Website at http://www.reliefweb.int.
Telephone: +41-22-917 12 34
Fax: +41-22-917 00 23
In case of emergency only: Tel. +41-22-917 20 10
Mr. Erik Haegglund, Mr. Ricardo Mena, Ms. Masayo Kondo
Direct Tel. +41-22-917 3299 / 1455 / 1997
(GVA) Ms. Elizabeth Byrs, direct Tel. +41-22-917 26 53
(N.Y.) Ms. Stephanie Bunker, direct Tel. +1-212-963 87 40
- UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
- To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.