Barlovento, Miranda State, Venezuela flooding
Flooded areas in Barlovento, Miranda State, Venezuela, Dec 2010
Venezuela President Hugo Chavez has extended for 90 days in seven states and parts of Caracas a state of emergency called in response to violent rainfalls in late 2010 that may return this year.

The states included in the decree are Vargas, Miranda, Zulia, Falcon, Merida, Trujillo and Nueva Esparta, state media reported late Tuesday. Officials last ordered the state of emergency to be prolonged in February, according to the release.

The South American country has had little time to recover from last year's torrential storms that drove more than 130,000 Venezuelans from their homes and deepened a housing shortage. Venezuela faces renewed downpours as the early onset of the rainy season this year has unleashed more mudslides and floods, though on a smaller scale so far, and displaced hundreds of families.

Chavez, heading into a 2012 reelection bid, has focused on the disaster recovery and closing the housing gap.

In December, the outgoing national legislature, dominated by allies of Chavez, granted the leftist leader the ability to enact law by decree in response to the rain emergency that began in November. Supporters said the enhanced law-making powers would help speed the nation's recovery, while critics countered that Chavez was handed government controls that extended far beyond relief efforts.

Partly in response to the natural disaster, Chavez launched a major initiative to construct two million housing units before the end of the decade, largely financed by billions of dollars in loans from China. Critics and many analysts say new construction has slowed during the Chavez administration and the government is far behind the pace needed to meet its lofty goals.

Venezuela typically suffers mudslides, floods and a number of destroyed homes during its rainy season. But the prolonged and intense rain that has also battered Venezuela's neighbors in the region has continued with little break since late last year.

Among the latest hard-hit areas, in the northern state of Carabobo, 200 homes were lost while government crews continued to dig out block roads including the main entry into Caracas from the east, state media reported Tuesday. Last month, a flash flood swept away a family in the northwestern state of Yaracuy, killing nine people according to some reports.

The lingering rain in the region is associated with the "La Nina" climate pattern, a counterpart of the "El Nino" system, which continued to weaken in April, according to the U.S.-based National Weather Service.