Flooding In South America Drives Multitudes From Their Homes

More than 100,000 people have evacuated across Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil as El Niño-driven rains swell rivers and flood towns.

By
Jim Dalrymple II
by Jim Dalrymple II

BuzzFeed News Reporter

Jorge Adorno / Reuters

Houses are partially submerged in floodwaters in Asuncion, Paraguay, on Dec. 20.

Massive flooding in recent days has forced multitudes of evacuations across Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.

Jorge Adorno / Reuters

Paraguayans remove their belongings from their flooded houses near the Paraguay river in Asuncion on Dec. 20.

The rain and flooding began last week, and has forced about 100,000 evacuations in Paraguay alone, the Associated Press reported.

Jorge Saenz / AP

Four children from the Saucedo-Rodriguez family sleep on the same bed inside a temporary shelter while their home is flooded in Asuncion Wednesday.

In Argentina, 20,000 people were evacuated, according to national news agency Telam. The flooding had also displaced more than 9,000 people in Uruguay, authorities announced Saturday.

Handout . / Reuters

Argentina's Cabinet Chief Marcos Pena, left, and Chaco province governor Domingo Peppoi fly on a helicopter over flooded areas near Resistencia, Argentina, Saturday.

In the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, 12 cities had declared a state of emergency, authorities announced earlier this week. The AP reported that at least 7,000 people in the state had to flee their homes.

Handout . / Reuters

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff looks out of a plane during a flight over the areas hit by floods Saturday.

Paraguay's Emergency Secretary attributed the havoc to El Niño, adding that the Paraguay River was at its highest point all year and could continue to rise.

Jorge Saenz / AP

Men selling vegetables drive their horse-drawn cart through a flooded street in the Tacumbu neighborhood of Asuncion on Wednesday.

Wind and falling trees during the storms killed several people in Paraguay, Reuters reported. At least two people died in Argentina as well, according to the BBC.

Jorge Saenz / AP

Victor Ferreira, who is displaced by flooding, rows his boat through the streets of his Jukyty neighborhood in Asuncion on Wednesday.

The Paraguayan government has declared a state of emergency of the nation's capital, Asuncion, and other regions.

Jorge Adorno / Reuters

Houses are partially submerged in flood waters in Asuncion on Dec. 20.

Scientists have said this year's El Niño could be among the strongest on record, riveling even the powerful El Niño of the late 1990s.

Jorge Saenz / AP

Homes are submerged in floodwater in the Cateura neighborhood of Asuncion on Dec. 17.

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