Argentina: Floods - DREF Operational Update (MDRAR021 ...
Date of event
03-03-2024
What happened, where and when?
On 3 March 2024, the capital department of the Corrientes Province experienced a deluge of intense and prolonged rainfall, accumulating over 300 mm in less than 12 hours. This event marked a historic record for the city and had significant impacts, including flooded streets and numerous submerged houses. The storm caused structural damage such as roof blowdowns, fallen poles, walls, trees, and signs, resulting in significant material losses and disruptions to essential services such as transportation, electricity, telecommunications, and water supply. As a consequence, the start of classes was postponed.
Most of the community was affected, both in urban and suburban areas. Many homes experienced water ingress ranging from 20 cm to 2 meters, even in the urban core. Although approximately 90% of the affected areas have been drained, initial recovery efforts are focused on cleaning, disinfecting, and retrieving lost belongings, a process that is expected to last several months depending on each particular neighborhood and the pre-existing vulnerabilities of the most affected communities.
Particularly vulnerable areas such as the neighborhoods of Ciudades Correntinas, Quintana, Río Paraná, Anahí, La Olla, Ponce, Jardín, San Ignacio, Santa Rita Sur, Esperanza, and Molina Punta continue to face challenges due to their geographical location, pre-existing drainage problems, and high levels of vulnerability. Municipal and provincial authorities are actively involved in draining, cleaning, and deepening discharge channels in these areas, as well as cleaning discharge ditches in places such as the Pirayui settlement to ensure proper water flow. In addition, various cleaning supplies are being distributed to aid in cleanup efforts.
It is estimated that approximately 5,000 people were self-evacuated, and at least 996 people were evacuated to official temporary shelters. As of the close of this update, there are no official temporary shelters with people evacuated, but there are self-evacuated people and people in the process of early reconstruction and recovery.
The Municipality of Corrientes declared a state of municipal emergency, updating the declaration made on 12 January, which recognized the water emergency in the region.
In addition to the DREF operation in Corrientes, the National Society is also responding to another emergency due to the fact that on 15 May, rainfall and flooding in Brazil caused a significant increase in the level of the Uruguay River and its tributaries. The consequences of these floods are particularly evident in the provinces of Corrientes and Entre Ríos, part of the Argentine littoral, where river levels reached evacuation alerts in more than 7 localities in Corrientes and in more than 5 localities in Entre Ríos, where more than 2,650 people were directly affected and had to be evacuated or self-evacuate to relatives' or neighbors' homes, a figure that could rise in the coming weeks.
In the extreme north of the Uruguay River, levels have begun to decrease gradually, although some areas are still under evacuation alert and others on alert status. However, the possibility of new floods remains a concern in the region. On the other hand, levels continue to rise in the central and southern regions of the province. Rainfall persists in the northern part of the country.
