State of emergency declared in Bolivia after flood kills 50
Newly elected Bolivian President Evo Morales declared a state of emergency on Friday after flood killed 50 people in northern Bolivia, according to reports reaching here from La Paz.

The 50 people were killed in the San Borja region in the northern part of the country. Due to rainstorms, Morales was unable to fly over to San Borja, the worst-hit area some 1,000 km northeast of the country's administrative capital La Paz.

The rainstorms and flood have affected six of the country's nine departments, and Morales ordered aid for 800 displaced families in the worst-hit region.

The government is also considering to offer help for another 3,600 families badly affected in Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Pando andTarija, Defense Minister Walker San Miguel said.

The wealthy area of Santa Cruz is on high alert due to the high water level in the Rio Grande river.

In El Alto, a city close to La Paz, torrent from a river which normally has little water washed two public buses off the roads, killing a 16-year-old girl.

The worst single accident caused by the heavy rain occurred near the town of Caranavie, where 26 people were killed when a buswas washed into a river.