Uruguay flooding after worst storm in 50 years

| Photo: Buenos Aires Herald

Following years of drought, Uruguay is now being inundated with the worst storm to have hit the South American country in 50 years. Rains continue into their second day in Montevideo, the country’s capital.

The Uruguay Meteorological Institute (Inumet) issued a yellow alert throughout the country due to torrential rains, strong winds, occasional hail, as well as the presence of electrical hazards. The weather agency reported in its latest press release that a highly unstable warm front is affecting Uruguay and may lead to more strong storms in the near future.

Yesterday, Montevideo suffered flooding, where dozens of trees and power lines were downed, blocking roads and leaving automobiles stranded in river-like streets.

The country’s capital received 60 millimeters of rain in less than a half an hour, making it the worst storm recorded for the last 50 years.

The storm started at around 3 in the afternoon local time. As flooding began in Montevideo, people in the surrounding areas had to be evacuated, according to the Buenos Aires Herald. The rains have also reached the coastal cities

Uruguay has been subject to extreme weather for several years now. Uruguay’s Electoral Tribunal was forced on Nov. 30 to relocate 10 voting stations in four of the country’s states due to intense rains on elections day in the midst of another weather emergency set to orange.

From January to September in 2008, Uruguay was affected by record drought conditions, likewise the worst in 50 years in some areas, and one of the world’s most significant climate anomolies according to the Climate Change Science Compendium published in 2009.

Meanwhile, the continent is seeking to address concerns of extreme weather patterns brought about by climate change. At the close of the Bolivarian Alliance for the People of Our Americas (ALBA) summit earlier this month, member states called for a global meeting on climate change to take place in Bolivia in 2015. The resolutions from next year’s Bolivian summit will subsequently be presented at the COP 21 to be held in Paris, where governments will once again attempt to reach an agreement on a new protocol to address climate change.

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