Heavy rainfall linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon has caused widespread flooding in the town of Ayolas in southern Paraguay, leading hundreds of residents to seek refuge in shelters.
After storms last week, the Parana River overflowed, leaving at least five neighborhoods in Ayolas submerged in water, approximately 186 miles (300 km) from the capital city of Asuncion.
National emergency ministry estimates indicate that about 35,000 individuals across Paraguay have been impacted by the heavy rains, with local authorities in Ayolas reporting that approximately 3,700 people have been displaced.
Pascacio Mercado, a 61-year-old resident of Ayolas, recounted, “They warned us that the water was rising a lot, so the whole family came out to the street. By dawn, the water had reached my house and my neighbors’ and began to pour in.”
With the city’s streets still flooded, some children have resorted to utilizing small boats as a means of transportation to get to school.
Mariano Medina, a 51-year-old shoemaker, stated, “I left my house before the floods came, so I came here to set up camp,” while sitting under a tarp.
Weather experts are anticipating additional stormy weather over the weekend as a result of the El Nino effect, which is triggered by a warming of the Pacific Ocean and contributes to extreme weather occurrences throughout the Americas.
Eduardo Mingo, head of Paraguay’s meteorology institute, remarked, “El Nino is already in effect. We were waiting for it to show its face, and now we’re seeing that it’s hitting the south-southeast with these intense rains.”
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), El Nino is projected to persist until at least April 2024, heightening temperatures in a year that is poised to become the warmest on record.
(Reporting by Cesar Olmedo; Writing by Daniela Desantis and Kylie Madry; editing by Diane Craft)
