ARGENTINA: Death toll in La Plata climbs to 46 after deadly rainstorm batters the city

Record ID: 447348

  • Title: ARGENTINA: Death toll in La Plata climbs to 46 after deadly rainstorm batters the city
  • Date: 3rd April 2013
  • Summary: LA PLATA, BUENOS AIRES PROVINCE, ARGENTINA (APRIL 3, 2013) (REUTERS) FLOODED CITY STREET FIRE TRUCK ON FLOODED STREET CARS PARKED ON FLOODED STREET PEOPLE TRYING TO USE THEIR CELL PHONES MEN WALKING THROUGH FLOODED STREETS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT, BRUNO ZORZIT, SAYING: "There wasn't a structure that could handle it [the rainstorm]. People spent the nights on roof tops getting wet - families, small children, people in wheelchairs that had water up to their waists. A disaster, a disaster." MAN IN UNDERWEAR TALKING WITH NEIGHBOUR IN CAR ON FLOODED STREET VARIOUS OF PEOPLE BAILING WATER FROM FLOODED BABY STORE VARIOUS OF ARGENTINE RED CROSS STAND IN STREET MAN WADING THROUGH WATER VARIOUS OF WOMAN BEING RESCUED ON COAST GUARD BOAT NATIONAL GUARD OVERSEEING RESCUE RED CROSS PERSONNEL CARRYING WOMAN ON A STRETCHER ARMY TRUCKS RESIDENTS AND RED CROSS STAFF WALKING ON STREET AND MAN ON BICYCLE VARIOUS OF CLAUDIO GONZALEZ IN HIS GARAGE WITH WATER LEVEL MARKS ON GARAGE WALL CLOSE-UP OF WATER LEVEL (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT, CLAUDIO GONZALEZ, SAYING: "It [the water] started to rise around five or six in the afternoon [April 2]. And we realized that it started to cover the pavement and so we started to bring things to the second floor and thank to that we could save almost a lot of the furniture. But, the car and the motorcycle stayed under the water. The water was up to the car roof. You can see the water marks on the house. Everything like the fridge, the kitchen cupboards, the living room furniture was lost." RESIDENT ON BALCONY POINTING BELOW VARIOUS OF NEIGHBOURS PUSHING CAR AND HELPING WITH CLEAN UP EFFORT MEN WITH CANOE IN FLOODED STREET
  • Embargoed: 18th April 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: Disasters,Environment
  • Reuters ID: LVA4L9QV1H2OAO2EE6R5U04NLBD1
  • Story Text: The death toll climbed to 46 in La Plata, Argentina on Wednesday (April 3) after an intense downpour pummelled the city and forced thousands of people to flee their homes.
    Emergency crews including firefighters, police and military personnel worked to rescue those who had been trapped by the waters.
    People struggled to make calls as cell phone services in the city were disrupted by the storm.
    Bruno Zorzit, a La Plata resident, described how many people were forced to spend the night on roof tops to escape the rising water levels.
    "There wasn't a structure that could handle it [the rainstorm]. People spent the nights on roof tops getting wet - families, small children, people in wheelchairs that had water up to their waists. A disaster, a disaster," said Zorzit.
    Business owners rushed to bail out water from flooded stores and salvage what was left of the merchandise.
    The Argentine Red Cross set up an emergency stand in the street to provide assistance to those in need.
    The Coast Guard used boats to assist people who had been stranded by the flooding.
    Most of La Plata, located 52 kilometres (32 miles) south of Buenos Aires, was completely swamped after some 400 millimetres (15. 7 inches) of rain fell in a period of two hours.
    Resident Claudio Gonzalez said that while he managed to save some of his belongings, the damage caused by the rains was substantial.
    "It [the water] started to rise around five or six in the afternoon [April 2]. And we realized that it started to cover the pavement and so we started to bring things to the second floor and thank to that we could save almost a lot of the furniture. But, the car and the motorcycle stayed under the water. The water was up to the car roof. You can see the water marks on the house. Everything like the fridge, the kitchen cupboards, the living room furniture was lost," said Gonzalez.
    Neighbours worked to help each other in the difficult clean up process.
    Thousands in the area remained without power, as residents - still reeling from the storm's aftermath - braced themselves for more rain.
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