Described by Argentine President Eduardo
Duhalde as a "national catastrophe," extensive flooding has deluged
the South American country's northern Santa Fe province, killing 11 people
and forcing the evacuation of more than 120,000 others.
The floods were triggered by heavy rains
that began mid-April and quickly overwhelmed the Salado River, which spilled
into 35 of the province's districts.
A state of emergency has been declared in each of the districts and nearly one-third of the entire province, home to three million people, is submerged by floodwater.
The hardest hit area is the province's capital city Santa Fe, where high waters have cut off electricity and prevented access for many relief efforts.
According to local authorities, at least 29,000 people had fled to 115 official shelters, but many residents were unwilling to leave their homes and possessions from fear of looters.
On Thursday, the sun finally broke through the rainclouds, causing floodwaters to recede slightly and giving an opportunity for recovery efforts to begin.
The Argentine Red Cross Society is at the forefront of the relief operation and immediately dispatched six medical teams to the inundated province. The teams have rescued more than 1,000 stranded residents and have helped treat escalating cases of hypothermia, dehydration and exhaustion.
Meanwhile, other Red Cross volunteers helped evacuate Orlando Alassia, the capital city's main children's hospital, as floodwaters approached. Volunteers also provided food, clothing, and mental health counseling to families traumatized by the disaster in 15 of the province's evacuation shelters.
As the disaster continues, global support for the Argentine Red Cross Society has poured in. The secretary general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (Federation), Didier Cherpitel, is visiting the stricken country this week and offered the full support of the Federation.
"This is a terrible calamity on top of all the socio-economic difficulties which the country has been experiencing lately," Cherpitel said. "Hopefully, it will focus the international community's attention to the needs of the vulnerable people of Argentina."
The Federation has provided $37,000 from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund to the recovery operation and is in constant communication with the Argentine Red Cross Society should further assistance be immediately needed.
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