Argentina: More than 2,000 evacuated due to El Niño-related flooding

The rainfall of recent weeks has increased the flow of the Paraná, Uruguay and Iguazú rivers, which distinctly border Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

More than 2,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in northeastern Argentina this week due to flooding linked to the El Niño weather phenomenon, which already claimed two lives last weekend.

The heavy rainfall of recent weeks has increased the flow of the Paraná, Uruguay, and Iguazu rivers, which form distinct borders of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. This rain is linked to El Niño, which raises the surface temperature of the Pacific Ocean and alters wind and rainfall patterns worldwide. Experts predict that the current event will be one of the most intense in decades.

In the province of Chaco, 1,200 to 1,300 people have left their homes to seek shelter, Gustavo Santos of the local Civil Protection agency told AFP, warning of a phenomenon that "will last for several months, as the river level will constantly rise and fall." In the neighboring province of Corrientes, another thousand residents have had to abandon their homes, according to Civil Defense data released Wednesday. There, in the tourist town of Paso de la Patria, several neighborhoods were flooded after a dike broke due to the rising Paraná River.

"A meter of water rushed into my house."

“For now, I’m holding on here at home. A meter of water rushed into my house overnight,” Juan Pablo Gómez, a resident, told AFP near his flooded home. In some parts of the city, only the rooftops are above water. On a football pitch, only the crossbar of a goal is still visible.

On Monday, the Civil Defence of the city of Corrientes announced the drowning of two farm workers, who died while transporting livestock out of flooded areas.