Flood in Argentina – at least 16 fatalities

Last weekend brought yet another unprecedented natural disaster. The flood in Argentina was triggered by torrential rains that, within a single day, matched the annual rainfall total for the city of Bahia Blanca. Over a hundred people remain missing, and material losses are estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Dramatic downpour over Bahia Blanca

Rainfall reached Bahia Blanca before noon on March 7. Within just eight hours, 400 mm of rain fell on the city, located 600 km south of Argentina’s capital. This shattered the previous daily record of 175 mm set in 1930. The media compare the current catastrophe to Argentina’s massive floods in 2003 and 2013.

The devastating downpour caused the Maldonado Canal and Napostá Grande Stream to overflow, submerging an area inhabited by 350,000 people. Water levels on the streets reached up to 150 cm. With military assistance, the international Dr. José Penna Hospital was evacuated along with over a thousand residents from the most threatened districts, where authorities cut off power supplies for safety reasons. Looting began in flooded stores.

Bahia Blanca is a port city built on a slope by the sea. Due to strong winds exceeding 100 km/h, waves surged into the streets, compounding the damage caused by rainwater. Raging water currents carried away cars and debris from destroyed homes.

The rising death toll of Argentina’s flood

At least five people drowned in their vehicles as floodwaters engulfed the streets. One particularly tragic incident involved parents with two children whose car was submerged. A delivery truck driver managed to save the family by helping them climb onto the roof of his vehicle. Unfortunately, the water rose further, sweeping away the driver and the two girls, aged 1 and 5. The man’s body has been found, but the search for the children continues.

Over a hundred people are still considered missing, though police estimate that many are simply unreachable due to damaged cell towers. As floodwaters recede, they reveal streets buried in mud and debris, as well as piled-up wrecked cars. More than 200 firefighters are involved in the cleanup operation.

Argentina has declared a three-day national mourning period due to the disaster. According to the mayor of Bahia Blanca, infrastructure damage is estimated at no less than $400 million. A total of 23 schools have been severely affected, and on the outskirts of the city, the rain has destroyed 2 million hectares of farmland.

What caused the flood in Argentina?

Experts unanimously link the March catastrophe in Bahia Blanca to ongoing climate change. Rising air temperatures increase humidity retention, leading to more intense extreme weather events while making precise forecasting increasingly difficult.

However, not everyone agrees that weather conditions are solely to blame. According to Prof. Pablo Romanazzi from the Hydrology Department at the University of La Plata, cities like Bahia Blanca are ill-prepared for torrential rains, mainly due to urban planning and inadequate drainage infrastructure. He admitted, however, that no city in the world could have coped with such an enormous amount of water.

Andrea Dufourg, head of environmental policy in Ituzaingó, warned that such disasters will keep happening. “We have no choice – we must prepare cities, educate citizens, and develop effective early warning systems,” Dufourg urged.