A natural disaster devastated two Latin American countries this weekend. A violent storm with heavy rains and winds blowing up to 150 km/ha left at least 16 dead and caused widespread destruction in several cities in central Argentina and Uruguay.
The most serious episode occurred in the port city of Bahia Blanca (600 km southwest of Buenos Aires), where the storm caused the roof of a sports club to collapse on Saturday, killing 13 people. and 14 seriously injured, according to the municipality.
Javier Milei on site to see the damage
Argentine President Javier Milei, who expressed his “deepest condolences to the victims”, visited Bahia Blanca on Sunday. “In the face of such events, we Argentines always manage to give the best of ourselves, to test our resilience and solidarity,” he said. “I am fully convinced that you will be able to resolve this situation in the best possible way with existing resources.” The town was left without power and suffered extensive damage.
The National Meteorological Service declared an “orange” alert in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Entre Rios, Cordoba and Santa Fe (central-east), with precipitation of up to 130 mm, a “yellow” alert for six other provinces and predicted the advance of storms towards the north.
In Moreno, 40 km from Buenos Aires, a woman died after being hit by a tree branch torn by the wind, according to police sources.
360 trees cut down in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires was swept Sunday morning by winds of nearly 100 km/h, heavy rains and power cuts, said Mayor Jorge Macri. The capital woke up to 360 felled trees, which destroyed vehicles, cut cables, brought down public lights, and disrupted traffic. In the Palermo district, at least three people were injured while attending a concert, where a stage collapsed, according to organizers. Thirteen other people were injured at the Palermo racetrack, the SAME emergency service said.
Some suburbs of the capital were also hit by the storm, with rainfall reaching 40 mm in a few hours, a third of the historical average for the month of December, the National Weather Service reported.
Two dead in Uruguay
In Uruguay, at least two people died on Sunday in the department of Colonia, where winds blowing at more than 167 km/h uprooted trees and swept away roofs, according to the Uruguayan Meteorological Institute (Inumet). An eight-year-old boy died at a campsite in the seaside resort of Santa Regina, on the Rio de la Plata, and a 20-year-old man was killed while riding his motorbike on a road near Rosario. Firefighters reported more than 150 emergency situations in Montevideo and the rest of the country.