Maduro declares emergency after deadly flooding

In the remote Venezuelan Mocoties Valley, rains have caused severe flooding, damaging thousands of houses and killing at least 17 people, local authorities said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro declared an emergency in Merida, a state affected by rains in recent weeks. Maduro said he had allocated funds and heavy machinery to address the emergency. Landslides have been occurring since Monday in the mountain range located on the banks of the overflowing Mocotíes River. Towns across Merida are without electric service and failures are reported in fixed and mobile telephone services.