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Argentina: Floods Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA) DREF n° MDRAR016

Countries
Argentina
Sources
IFRC
Publication date
Origin
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A. Analysis of the situation

Description of the disaster

In early 2019, heavy rain caused flooding in northern Argentina, affecting more than 30,000 people1 in the provinces of Chaco, Corrientes, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán, Santa Fe and Entre Ríos. On 17 January 2019, heavy rain fell on the north-eastern territories and the Argentine coast in the Chaco and Santa Fe provinces in the localities of Vilelas, Resistencia and Villa Minetti. These precipitation events generated large quantities of accumulated water, which had a more direct and stronger impact than prior rainfall due to the saturation of the soil; the rainfall prevented affected families from evacuating in time, causing increased damage to their homes. To address this situation, which has affected more than 9,000 people, the municipal government of Vilelas and local authorities from the provinces of Chaco and Santa Fe declared a water related emergency on 17 January and requested support from the national government. In addition, the Argentine Senate declared an agricultural emergency on 18 January 2019 for the entire Santa Fe region.

At the national level, 4 people have died, more than a third of the impacted provinces’ population had to be evacuated and 30,041 people are reported to have been affected by the rainfall that began in the early morning hours of 8 January 2019 and lasted through 18 January 2019. The heavy rainfall briefly affected the provinces of Santiago del Estero and Tucumán; however, the situation in these provinces is gradually returning to normal. Meanwhile, authorities and emergency response institutions in the provinces of Corrientes and Entre Ríos have provided assistance by stabilizing humanitarian needs; nonetheless, the affected population in the provinces of Santa Fe and Chaco still requires support.