Floods hit thousands in Argentina

by Amy Judd | February 29, 2008 at 12:46 pm

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Thousands of people have been forced from their homes as heavy rain caused mass flooding in Argentina. The torrential rains have also caused power cuts and brought transport to a standstill. People in Buenos Aires are still the least affected, but police are telling everyone to just stay home if they can.

Flooding has been a issue many times before in Argentina and Latin America. This is not the first time residents have had to deal with these wet problems.

About 2,000 people are reported to have been evacuated in the province of Buenos Aires. The capital is still on alert as more rain is expected.

Thousands of small businesses lost stock as the storms took them by surprise, business leaders said.

The national weather service says rains and storms are expected until Monday.

Precautions

Civil Defence Director Daniel Russo told local media the situation was "not serious" for the residents of the capital, but he recommended people take precautions and try to stay at home.

Public transport has been disrupted and power cuts mean traffic lights are not working in some areas.

The worst affected area is La Plata district, where about 1,500 people have had to be evacuated from their homes.

Other Latin American countries have also been affected by the bad weather in recent weeks.

Nearly a month of flooding has claimed at least three lives and forced thousands to flee their homes in Ecuador. In Peru, 16 have been killed in flood-related incidents since January and hundreds left homeless.