Extreme weather conditions last night, including Zonda winds, heavy rain and hail caused many accidents and three deaths in some central Argentine provinces.
Although the weather forecast had a more positive outlook for today, the stormy weather that affected areas such as Buenos Aires City, Greater Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Córdoba and Mendoza provinces last night has left three people dead, and many injured.
In the western province of Mendoza, two people died last night in accidents caused by strong Zonda wind gusts, local media reported.
The first incident occurred in the area of Tupungato, where a noncommissioned police officer was killed in a road accident. Five policemen were travelling in a van, when the strong winds caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle and fall down a ditch, police officers informed.
Another man was killed whilst driving in the outskirts of the Mendoza capital. The 29-year-old man was riding his motorbike along the road when the strong winds provoked a tree to fall, crushing and instantly killing him.
Zonda winds were registered further affecting Mendoza province, causing damage to properties and cars, after trees and electric towers fell due to the force of the storms. Highly affected areas included Tunuyán and Tupungato, local media reported.
Similarly, the capital, Greater Buenos Aires area, Santa Fe province and Córdoba were also gravely affected by the storms and heavy rain.
In Santa Fe, the strong winds and hail storms caused many people to be evacuated from their homes, with twenty-five people left injured in Rosario. Wind speeds reached up to 100 kilometres per hour in some areas, local police reported.
In Buenos Aires province, the extreme weather affected various areas, but one of the worst-hit towns was that of Bragado where the heavy rain caused severe flooding, making people evacuate their homes. Meanwhile the strong gales led a roof to fly off at a school in Lomas de Zamora, with it landing in the street. Local officials reported that miraculously there were no injuries caused by the incident.
On Monday night, a young boy was killed after a tree collapsed due to the strong winds in General Deheza, Córdoba. The incident took place in the playground of a local school, when a 9-year-old boy was killed when a tree fell on him during break time. The third-grader suffered severe injuries to his upper torso, and was admitted to the local hospital, where he eventually died of his wounds.
Aside from storms, and strong winds, in Córdoba, the weather conditions caused some towns to experience a heat wave, with the registered heat index reaching 43 degrees Celsius.
Some of the worst-affected towns in the province were Laboulaye, Serrano, Alejandro Roca, Adela María, San Basilio, Coronel Moldes, Huanchilla, Levalle, Washington and Río Cuarto where residents experienced power cuts, tree collapses, and some evacuations.
Damages to properties and cars were reported in the City of Buenos Aires, however the effects of the storm were minimal in comparison to other areas, leaving none injured and causing no deaths. In the city neighbourhood of Colegiales, cars were reportedly crushed by the falling of trees due to 50km winds last night and early this morning, officials stated.
The forecast for today in the Capital and Greater Buenos Aires is predicted to be calmer than yesterday’s with partially cloudy skies and a probability of rain and thunderstorms, but with wind speeds calming considerably. Temperatures are expected to range between 17 and 25 degrees, the National Meteorological Service (SMN) reported.
Meanwhile, SMN also issued a weather warning for the northern areas of Córdoba, southern Corrientes, Entre Ríos, central and northern areas of Santa Fe, southern areas of Santiago del Estero and Río de la Plata, for “heavy rain and storms.”
buenosairesherald.com