More than 4,000 families are affected by the historic overflow of a river in southern Venezuela (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

For more than 80 years a flood has not been recorded in that region of the country. The flow overflow was caused by heavy rains.

The overflow of the Uairén river in the Gran Sabana municipality of Bolívar state, in southern Venezuela, caused the flooding, almost in its entirety, of the population of Santa Elena de Uairén, a natural disaster that left more than 4,000 families affected.

villagers, located about 15 kilometers from the Venezuelan border with Brazilpoint out that for more than 80 years there has been no such incident in the town.

“It’s been 82 years since this happened and in an untimely manner yesterday we were caught by a rain of more than eight hours that caused flooding in 12 sectors of this population,” said the governor of Bolívar state, Ángel Marcano, in statements to the local media Unión Radio.

Marcano explained that the more than 4,000 affected families are being assisted in shelters by regional and national authorities, through an operation in which the Armed Forces, Civil Protection officials, the health and food portfolio, among others, participate.

“No injuries, no fatalities of any kind and the most affected comrades are in shelters, protected and are of course being treated from a medical point of view and also personally,” said Marcano. So far, the town has received 60 tons of food, medicine, mattresses, among other items to attend to the emergency.

The governor also highlighted the participation of the community and thanked the solidarity of the inhabitants, pointing out that it has been decisive so that the natural disaster does not turn into “greater evils”. In that sense, he commented that the Los Pinos sector was one of the most affected and that at the moment the situation is “tending to normal.”

Local inhabitants point out through social networks that the floods left the majority of the population without electricity or internet service. In addition, they consider that the overflow of the river is a consequence of the winter wave that has been registered for days in the Amazon region.

Photos and videos show the impact caused by the flood. Vehicles under water, people swimming and even a boat navigating the streets of the city, are some of the images spread on social networks.

At the moment, the authorities continue with the operations of protection and attention to the emergency, while taking contingency measures to prevent new risks in the affected area, because the rainy season, which began last May, ends in November.