For most Venezuelans, the El Nino-linked drought that has struck the country this year means inconveniences like power and water rationing. But for some, the extreme dry spell is stirring up bittersweet memories. The Uribante reservoir that feeds a hydroelectric dam here is at its lowest level in decades, and the receding waters have uncovered a village that has been mostly underwater since 1985, when it was flooded. Former town resident Josefa Garcia, 74, is grateful for the drought, even though it has triggered Venezuela's worst-ever electricity crisis.
For most Venezuelans, the El Nino-linked drought that has struck the country this year means inconveniences like power and water rationing.
But for some, the extreme dry spell is stirring up bittersweet memories. The Uribante reservoir that feeds a hydroelectric dam here is at its lowest level in decades, and the receding waters have uncovered a village that has been mostly underwater since 1985, when it was flooded.
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Former town resident Josefa Garcia, 74, is grateful for the drought, even though it has triggered Venezuela's worst-ever electricity crisis.
Standing in the shadow of a usually submerged 85-foot-high (26-meter-high) high church here, Garcia vividly recalls when then-President Carlos Andres Perez swooped in by helicopter to tell residents the town would soon be flooded.
"He said we'd all be expropriated and we had to leave," Garcia said, standing in the old village square. "It took our hope away."
Before its flooding, this Andean town of around 1,200 in the western state of Tachira was evacuated and its residents dispersed around the country. Garcia moved to a nearby region, and had never revisited her former town until now.
Normally, only the church spire can be seen jutting out of the 4,900-acre (20-square-km) reservoir. But water levels recently fell 98 feet, revealing eerie remnants: the church, demolished houses, a cemetery, a square.
Article continues: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61N63820100224
