. . . state of emergency declared in Vargas, Miranda and the Capital District
EL UNIVERSAL/REUTERS  – Venezuelan Vice President Elías Jaua has said that 7,532 families have been affected by heavy rainfall in the country, which translates into 33,442 people, a 6,620 people increase in the states most seriously hit by torrential rains. At least 21 people were killed by landslides and swollen rivers which threatened to cause more damage.
The situation forced the government to declare a state of emergency in the states of Falcón, Miranda, Vargas and the Capital District.
Vice President Elias Jaua said 5,600 people were forced to leave their homes because of the rains.
Minister of Defense General-in-Chief Carlos Mata Figueroa that northwestern Falcón state is the most seriously hit area in Venezuela.
“Falcón state is affected in its entire territory, in all municipalities. Some areas are isolated because roads are flooded, and air aid operations have been virtually impossible due to heavy rains in the past four days in the area,” he noted.

Loss of thousands of acres of vegetables
Productive areas in the states of Lara, Carabobo and Guárico have also been seriously affected by heavy rains
Torrential rains in almost all the northern and Andean states in Venezuela have caused severe crop damage and undermined livestock production.
According to estimates by Juan Carlos Gómez, a member of the Association of Onion Producers of the state of Lara (Procebolla), rains in the region during the last three months have already damaged 3,700 acres of onions, about 1,235 acres of tomatoes and about 1,235 acres of sweet peppers.
It means that at least 37,500 tons of onions, about 12,000 tons of tomatoes and almost 7,000 tons of sweet peppers have been damaged, according to the data issued by Procebolla.