La Paz, April 20 (Xinhua-RHC) -- The weather phenomenon known as La Niña, which is usually blamed for causing excessive rain or severe drought, has left more than 259,000 Bolivians homeless.

Bolivian Deputy Civil Defence Minister Oscar Cabrera, while presenting his ministry’s latest report in the central city of Cochabamba, announced that a clean-up phase to repair damages caused by the weather phenomenon had started.

Quoted by the media, Cabrera said: “We have almost concluded the emergency phase caused by La Niña, which was mainly characterized by intense rains,” and added “we are now planning the reconstruction and aid for the homeless.”

Statistics of the Civil Defense Ministry revealed that, during the rainy season, the ministry provided humanitarian aid worth 2.3 million U.S. dollars to 85 percent of the victims from December 2011 to mid-March 2012, including food and household goods.

Although the rainy season has ended in most of Bolivia, Cabrera said his ministry would continue supplying aid to the regions still suffering from heavy rain, hail and flash floods.

The deputy minister also said the Bolivian government was preparing contingency plans for battling extreme cold weather, such as frost that could affect harvests, especially in the areas of La Paz, Oruro, Potosi and Chuquisaca, as well as hot weather emergencies in June and July, when farmers in the Amazonian region clear and burn land to prepare for planting, which occasionally triggers fire.

La Ninais a cooling weather pattern of the central Pacific Ocean, mainly near the equator. It is the opposite phenomenon of El Niño.

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