This Article is From Mar 05, 2015

Thousands Evacuated in Argentina Flooding

Thousands Evacuated in Argentina Flooding

File Photo: View of a flooded street in Jesus Maria locality in Cordoba, Argentina following torrential rains on March 3, 2015.(Agence France-Presse)

Buenos Aires:

More heavy rain triggered thousands of evacuations and flooding across five Argentine provinces on Wednesday, with at least one person dead and another missing.

A 78-year-old man was crushed to death by his falling house roof in the northern province of Santiago del Estero, where 1,000 people were evacuated, the local civil defense office told AFP.

In central Cordoba province, where intense rain caused nine deaths in February, some 2,000 people were evacuated and a 46-year-old man was missing after being swept away while crossing a canal on horse.

Meanwhile, in the city of Santa Fe, around 40 people looted a supermarket overnight, and 1,150 evacuated their homes across the larger Santa Fe province.

Schools and public transportation were suspended, authorities said, and a state of emergency was in effect for the province, where rainfall over the past week has reached half the yearly average already.

The heavy rains, which have lasted several days, also hit San Luis and Catamarca provinces. The affected area is known for its livestock farming.

Environmental group Greenpeace said that the flooding was due to deforestation caused by farming and fisheries, which has made the land more vulnerable to rainfall.
 

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