By Delisa Morris,
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Heavy rain and strong winds plummeted Buenos Aires Tuesday night forcing over 1,000 people to evacuate the city due to flooding. Fallen trees and power outages were among the wet conditions flowing into Wednesday evening.
Cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich said power outages have been applied in certain areas as a preventive measure, and confirmed 5,000 policemen have been sent to the 17 damaged areas with water, food and mattresses to aid local governments.
The most damaged areas are in Buenos Aires province. For instance in Marcos Paz, 60 kilometers away from Argentina’s capital, 120 families had to be evacuated, while in Coronel Pringles, 500 kilometers away from Buenos Aires city, 450 people decided to leave the area.
The Municipality of Lujan also issued a red alert due to the dangerous 4-meter rise of the Lujan River during the storms. Local firemen informed reporters that, 12 families had to be evacuated.
“The river is growing at a rate of 20 centimeters per hour,” the fire department told reporters.
Roof collapses and structural damage to buildings has been attributed to the strong winds in the city of Bragado. Local firemen told reporters the city appears to have been hit by a “tornado”.
Capitanich confirmed the city was hit by a tornado during a press conference today, and stated Bragado was the most damaged city so far.
Though many people have been evacuated and 70 houses have been damaged, no injured people have been registered.
In Buenos Aires City, more than 100 trees have collapsed due to the strong winds, Civil Defense director Daniel Russo informed.
Bus and train services have been interrupted.
Delays were also noted on the General Paz highway at the level of the Oeste freeway and the San Martín Avenue, due to water accumulation.
On the Puente Pueyrredón Bridge, water was completely covering the road, prompting traffic chaos.
Furthermore, flight delays and 30 cancellations have been registered in both the International Ezeiza Airport and the City’s Metropolitan Airport.
In 2013, one of the heaviest storms recorded in Argentina killed dozens of people in the province and forced thousands more to evacuate.
For more information, please see:
Buenos Aires Herald – Over 1,000 people evacuated over floods in BA City province – 29 Oct. 2014
NBC News – Heavy Downpours Cause Flooding in Buenos Aires – 29 Oct. 2014
BBC News – Rains and winds lash Buenos Aires province, Argentina – 29 Oct. 2014
Fox News Latino – Storm forces evacuation of 1,000 people in Argentina – 29 Oct. 2014
