Venezuela has banned fishing and swimming along hundreds of miles of Caribbean coastline after finding dangerous levels of sewage pollution caused by massive flooding last month. Powerful floods and mudslides that hit the nation’s northern coast in mid-December killed up to 50,000 people and destroyed many sewage pipes and water treatment plants. The ban affects some of the nation’s top tourist beaches and is hitting the fishing community during one of its most productive times of the year. The flooding has also caused other environmental problems. Last week, officials revealed that large quantities of toxic chemicals, including mercury and sulfuric acid, may have been spilled at the country’s main port when flood waters ripped apart two large warehouses.
