The Bolivian government declared a state of emergency after floods left seven people dead and thousands displaced, reports reaching here from Bolivan capital La Paz said Saturday.

The Ministry of Civil Defense said homes of some 52,000 were damaged or destroyed by floods triggered by weeks of heavy rains.

It did not provide the death toll, but the El Deber daily in the eastern province of Santa Cruz reported seven deaths since December.

The floods, which were blamed on the El Nino phenomenon, have hit seven of the Andean country's nine provinces.

President Evo Morales signed the national emergency on Friday to release funds for floods-hit areas. The initial damage was estimated at 90 million U.S. dollars.

Source: Xinhua