The floods caused widespread damange in Sierras Chicas, province of Córdoba (Photo: Irma Montiel/ Télam)
Recovery efforts are underway after deadly floods killed at least seven and damaged around 1,500 homes in the province of Córdoba.
More than 300mm of rain – the equivalent of around 30% of the annual average – fell within 12 hours on Sunday. The storm caused flash floods in several areas of the province, leading to fatalities and widespread damage to infrastructure. This included an aqueduct, leaving municipalities in the mountainous Sierras Chicas area in the northwest of the province without running water.
At least 1,000 people were evacuated, including dozens from the provincial capital, though most have since been able to return to their homes. Meanwhile, a search operation is still underway for a 21-year-old girl who went missing during the floods. Mariana Di Marco had been camping near the town of Ascochinga when the storm struck.
Further rains on Tuesday added to the damage, and earlier this morning a bridge on the Ruta 9 highway collapsed. There were no injuries as the road had been closed to traffic since Monday, but authorities warned that it could take a month for the bridge to be repaired.
Meanwhile, on Monday Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich confirmed that national pension organisation ANSES would provide special assitance to nearly 15,000 people affected by the floods.
‘Not a Natural Catastrophe’
Provincial Governor José Manuel de la Sota described the rain on Sunday as a “tsunami that fell from the sky”.
However, in the aftermath of the disaster, several environmental and social groups have claimed that widespread deforestation in the province contributed to the deadly flooding.
The NGO Coordinators for Environmental and Human Rights in Sierras Chicas said in a written statement that this was not a “natural catastrophe”.
“Beyond the amount of rain that fell, the ‘catastrophe’ is not ‘natural': natural is when rain is filtered gradually to the surface (a sponge effect). But the higher grounds are being cleared, burnt, and built upon, leaving the ground unprotected and impermeable.”
Greenpeace Argentina noted that: “Córdoba province retains less than 4% of its original native forests, and in spite of the National Forest Law, clearing for agricultural or urban development has wiped out forests in delicate areas, removing the protection that vegetation provides during heavy rains.”
Legislator for the MST-Nueva Izquierda Alejandro Bodart also criticised governor De La Sota: “He blames nature and talks about a ‘tsunami’, but in reality the real catastrophe is his model of deforestation and the expansion of soy at the behest of Monsanto.”
The post Córdoba: Recovery Effort Underway After Deadly Floods appeared first on The Argentina Independent.