The World - News from Sept. 1, 1988

Flooding in Colombia has forced about 100,000 people from their homes, the president’s office said. President Virgilio Barco Vargas has asked the nation’s Congress to approve $8 million in disaster assistance to six northern states--Cordoba, Atlantico, Sucre, Magadalena, Cesar and Bolivar. The floodwaters also have destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres of crops and killed thousands of farm animals, according to televised news reports. Heavy rain is expected to continue for the next few days, Colombia’s weather service said. At the same time, the flooding has caused an increase in the number of mosquitoes, the public health department for the state of Cordoba said. Malaria and dengue fever are carried by mosquitoes.