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Chavez Invites Homeless From Rains to Stay at Palace

02 December 2010 03:10 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that 60 people whose homes were destroyed by landslides caused by heavy rains can stay in the Miraflores presidential palace for a year, APA reports quoting â€œBusiness Weekâ€.
The self-declared socialist revolutionary called for other public buildings to be used to shelter families from the rains that have left 25 people dead and 5,600 displaced. A further 56,000 people have suffered losses and harvests have been damaged across the country.
â€œThese people shouldnâ€™t leave here until they have their own apartment,â€ Chavez said on state television today. â€œYou wonâ€™t leave here for another year.â€
Chavez said he had ordered an adjacent palace, the vice presidency and state television headquarters to receive more families for a few days.
Venezuela has been battered by weather this year after a severe drought led to electricity rationing as water levels in reservoirs behind hydroelectric dams dropped. The country is now being hit by the La Nina weather cycle, which brings heavy rains to northea