El Niño rains batter Latin America from Mexico to Chile, killing three
Floods along the Paraná, a building collapse on Mexico's coast and billions in aid in Peru: El Niño is hitting Latin America hard. At least three people have died.
Symbolic image · Photo: ISS Expedition 27 crew / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Heavy rains linked to the El Niño climate pattern have caused flooding and damage in several Latin American countries. In Paraguay, a 58-year-old woman died when her home collapsed, Reuters reported. Along the Paraná, South America's second-largest river, about 4,200 families have been affected, according to the national emergency agency. In Ciudad del Este on the Brazilian border, families sheltered in a church while residents pitched tents on a soccer field.
In Argentina's Corrientes province, two farm workers died while moving cattle, according to local media, out of flooded areas, and hundreds of residents were evacuated. In Mexico's Nayarit state, part of a luxury condominium complex collapsed after surf eroded the sand beneath it. In Chile, a mudslide swept onto Santiago's streets on Oct. 8. Peru's government announced financial aid and tax relief for affected businesses and plans to allocate 18 billion soles, about $5.2 billion, in 2027.
The World Meteorological Organization expects central Pacific temperatures to run about 3.8 degrees Celsius above average from November to January, peaking around December. According to Reuters, that could bring one of the most turbulent storm seasons on record.