Severe Flooding
Argentina is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. Because of its large surface area and unique geography, the country is prone to desertification, flooding, drought, volcanic eruptions, heavy snowfalls, landslides, earthquakes, and tornados. The direct impact of climate change has been observed across the country in recent years. Slow and gradual changes such as increased precipitation and temperatures have been observed in many parts of the country. In addition, Argentina has also suffered numerous extreme climate events that have resulted in disasters.
Flooding
Flooding is becoming a regular occurrence in many parts of the country. A combination of climatic factors including heavy rainfall and swollen rivers has produced devastating floods in recent years. In 2015, the country experienced floods which officials described as “the worst in five decades.” In the Northeastern city of Concordia, as many as 20,000 people were forced to evacuate. Just a year later, hundreds were forced from their homes in the provinces of Santa Fe and Buenos Aires.
In addition to disrupting the lives of Argentina’s citizens, the flooding has also devastated agricultural areas threatening the country’s economy and food supply. For example, long term flooding in the northwest region of Buenos Aires province, forced the local government to declare an agricultural emergency.
Argentina Creates New National Observatory on Climate Change
In hopes of detecting and preventing extreme climate events, the Ministry of the Environment and
Ministry of Defense have recently signed an agreement to create a National Observatory on Climate Change. The Observatory will create maps and conduct studies on numerous climate risks including floods, droughts, forest fires, heat waves, temperature changes and other extreme climate events.
Learn More
For a description of the massive regional flooding in late 2015: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-35184793
To learn more about the numerous effects of flooding in Argentina: http://floodlist.com/tag/argentina