Severe Storms Lash Buenos Aires

Violent storms lashed central Argentina producing floods, power cuts and traffic chaos. [EPA]

Torrential rain and violent winds smashed through Buenos Aires and the surrounding region on Wednesday causing widespread disruption. There was some damage to buildings, trees were uprooted and streets flooded in knee-deep water. Cabinet chief, Jorge Capitanich confirmed that 5,000 policemen were deployed to the 17 damaged areas to deliver provisions and aid those worst affected. In the city of Bragado, 200km from Buenos Aires, tiles were ripped off roofs and power lines were toppled leaving residents without running water and electricity. There was also a report of at least one tornado. Buenos Aires had 139mm of rain on Thursday. The October average is only 86mm so it comes as no great surprise that severe flooding occurred and at one stage the Luján River was rising at around 20cm per hour. According to the Civil Defense director of Buenos Aires, Daniel Russo, more than 100 trees were brought down across the city. The heaviest rain is now clearing the River Plate, but heavy downpours are still likely to affect Uruguay and southern Brazil this over the next few days. http://www.aljazeera.com/weather/2014/10/severe-storms-lash-buenos-aires-20141030125342530783.html