Floods kill 2 in Argentina, displace thousands amid El Nino

Provincial authorities in northeastern Argentina have evacuated more than 2,000 residents from flood-hit communities along the Parana and Uruguay rivers, where two rural workers drowned this week while attempting to move cattle to safety, as El Nino-driven rainfall continues to swell waterways across the border region.

Border provinces evacuate thousands

In Chaco province, Civil Protection Deputy Secretary Gustavo Santos said between 1,200 and 1,300 people fled their homes in Puerto Vilelas and Barranqueras as water levels rose. "This will continue for a couple of months. The river will keep rising and falling constantly," Santos said, adding that the displacement crisis will extend well into the southern hemisphere's summer.

Neighboring Corrientes province reported more than 1,000 evacuations, with floodwaters inundating neighborhoods in Paso de la Patria after a protective embankment failed under pressure from the rising Parana River. The two fatalities occurred when rural workers drowned while attempting to move livestock between islands to protect the animals from advancing waters, according to provincial officials.

Record flows swamp tourist sites

In Misiones province, storms damaged more than 100 homes and forced authorities to close roads and bridges as streams overflowed their banks. At Iguazu Falls, the Iguazu River's flow surged to 10 times its seasonal average in mid-October, prompting officials to reopen several tourist circuits while keeping access to the Devil's Throat — the waterfalls' most famous section — closed indefinitely. Meteorologists forecast additional rainfall in the upper Parana and Uruguay river basins next week, which could drive further rises in water levels that have already displaced communities near Argentina's borders with Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.