More than 100,000 people have had to evacuate from their homes in the bordering areas of Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina due to severe flooding in the wake of heavy summer rains brought on by El Nino, authorities said on Saturday.
In the worst-affected country, Paraguay, about 90,000 people in the area around the capital city of Asuncion have been evacuated, the Asuncion Emergencies Office said.
Many are poor families living in precarious housing along the banks of the River Paraguay.
Photo: Reuters
The Paraguayan government has declared a state of emergency in Asuncion and seven regions of the country to free up funds to help those affected. Several people have been killed by trees falling in the storms that caused the flooding, local media reported. There was no official death toll yet.
In Alberdi, about 120km south of Asuncion, the government recommended that several thousand more people living along the banks of the River Paraguay evacuate.
“[The flooding] was directly influenced by the El Nino phenomenon which has intensified the frequency and intensity of rains,” the national Emergencies Office said.
This year’s El Nino, which sparks global climate extremes, is the worst in more than 15 years, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said last month.
“Severe droughts and devastating flooding being experienced throughout the tropics and sub-tropical zones bear the hallmarks of this El Nino, which is the strongest in more than 15 years,” WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said in a statement.
Officials at Paraguay’s Emergencies Office said the river might rise even more in the coming days, stabilizing and falling back towards normal levels from next month onwards.
In northern Argentina, about 20,000 people have also had to abandon their homes, the government said on Saturday.
“We are going to have a few complicated months, the consequences will be serious,” Corrientes Province Governor Ricardo Colombi said after flying over the worst affected areas with Argentine Cabinet chief Marcos Pena.
Pena said national government aid was already on its way and Argentine President Mauricio Macri intended to make improving infrastructure a priority so that such flooding did not occur again.
“Argentina has a very big lack of infrastructure,” he said.
Macri was due to visit the flooded areas yesterday.
In Uruguay, more than 9,000 people have had to flee their homes, according to the Uruguayan Emergencies Office, which added that it expected water levels to remain at their current level for several days before subsiding.
At least four people have died in Argentina and Uruguay due to the storms and floods, according to local media reports.
One was reported to have drowned while another was electrocuted by a fallen power cable.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff also flew over the flooded areas on the border with Argentina and Uruguay on Saturday morning. Rio Grande do Sul state civil defense said 1,795 people were left homeless there after 38 towns were affected by heavy rains.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS