More than 2,000 people have had to be evacuated in the northern province of Chaco, after torrential rain provoked mass flooding in capital Resistencia.
The city and its surrounding barrios were hit by massive downpours in the early hours of Tuesday morning; reports suggest that over 100mm of rain fell in little over three hours. Around the area weather was even more extreme. The nearby town of Puerto Tirol reported receiving 200mm of rain in the same period, while 20km away Colonía Benitez received as much as 300mm.
The ensuing floods rendered the centre of the city impassable, and overran many of the barrios and villas on the outskirts of Gran Resistencia. At the time of writing over 2,000 people were evacuated to schools in the area acting as a safe haven for stranded residents. However, this number is expected to rise as the floods are yet to subside.
The provincial authorities responded by suspending all classes for the day, and dispatching aid groups to worst affected areas to provide assistance. However aid efforts are hamstrung by the flooding, since many of the main roads and routes in the city are completely submerged.
Those most affected by the flooding were residents of the villas (shanty towns) that surround the small provincial capital. This once more highlighted both the proliferation of these unplanned settlements, and their vulnerability in the face of natural disasters. Without infrastructure such as drainage systems, paved roads and communications such residences are in grave danger when floods and similar catastrophes hit.
Resistencia, in common with most major population centres in Argentina, has serious issues with the growth of villas and similar informal settlements. It is estimated that in a conurbation of some 370,000 inhabitants, 100,000, or nearly a third, live in villas or asentimientos. Clarín reports that many such inhabitants had to leave their homes the past Friday after similar downpours, and returned recently only for flooding to strike again. Many families are expected to have lost many of their possessions, left at home while fleeing the floods.