'Drowned' Venezuelan village Potosi reemerges

A village in Venezuela that disappeared more than 30 years ago under floodwater has resurfaced because of drought.

Potosi, in the country’s northeast, was flooded in 1984 to build a hydroelectric plant.

The only sign that around 1000 people used to call the place home was a church spire sticking out of the lake.

But now the village has re-emerged – including the remains of the 26-metre high church.

Some former residents have returned to see what became of their old home, where livestock now grazes.

"I came here to the church, and saw where it was that my uncle lived," Benilde Mora told The Telegraph. "He had a small grocery store. I liked going there because he would give us candy."

El Nino has been blamed for the drought that brought the drowned village above the surface.

But it may be short-lived, with El Nino officially over and the upcoming rainy season predicted to be particularly wet.