Over 150K flee flooding in Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay
Over 150,000 people have been forced to flee homes following heavy rains and ensuing flooding in the South American countries of Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil.
The worst-affected country is Paraguay, where nearly 90,000 people – many of them poor and living in unsafe housing along the banks of Paraguay River in areas surrounding the capital city of Asuncion -- have so far been evacuated, said a Saturday statement by the municipal emergency office.
The critical situation has prompted the Paraguayan government to declare a state of emergency in Asuncion and seven other regions in a bid to free up funds to extend aid.
This is while a number of people have been reported killed by trees falling during the storms that caused the flooding. However, no official death toll has yet been released.
Meanwhile, the Paraguay River is merely 30 centimeters short of reaching its banks, which could lead to extensive flooding in the entire area around the capital city, potentially affecting thousands of others residing by the major river.
Nearly 20,000 people in northern Argentina were also forced to abandon their homes, government authorities announced on Saturday.
"We are going to have a few complicated months, the consequences will be serious," said Governor of Corrientes region Ricardo Colombi, following a flight over the worst affected areas along with the government’s national Cabinet Chief Marcos Pena.
In Uruguay, over 9,000 people had to flee their homes, said the country’s national emergency office, noting that it anticipated water levels to remain at the current level for the next few days before subsiding.
"The flooding is caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon," said Uruguay’s Emergency Office Chief Fernando Traversa, adding, "We knew it would have its strongest impact towards the end of spring, start of summer ... but we could not know how much."
According to local media reports, at least four people have died so far in Argentina and Uruguay as the result of the heavy storms and severe flooding.
Meanwhile, Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff inspected the flooded areas on the border with Argentina and Uruguay during an over-flight on Saturday. This is while Rio Grande do Sul state civil defense stated that 1,795 people were left homeless there after 38 towns were affected by the heavy downpours.
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