Argentina: At Least 6 Dead Due to Torrential Rains in Bahía Blanca
BUENOS AIRES, March 7, 2025 – Local authorities report that at least six people have died as a preliminary toll from the torrential rains that began early Friday morning in the port city of Bahía Blanca, located 600 kilometers south of Buenos Aires.
Authorities indicated that over 270 millimeters of rain fell within less than four hours, leading to widespread flooding across numerous streets and necessitating the evacuation of approximately one thousand residents, including patients from a local hospital, in this city of around 350,000 inhabitants.
Of the six victims, five drowned in public areas, according to a press release from the municipality, which initially reported only one fatality. “We cannot rule out the possibility of more casualties given the extent of this climatic disaster,” emphasized municipal officials. By midday Friday, they noted that “a significant portion of the city was underwater” following “seven hours of relentless torrential rain,” although by that time, “the rainfall had temporarily subsided.”
Television footage captured nurses and medical personnel, later assisted by the military, carrying infants from the neonatal unit of Penna Hospital, which was undergoing evacuation.
The municipality of Bahía Blanca urged residents to stay indoors until further notice, allowing only “heavy machinery movement” for rescue operations. The province of Buenos Aires—distinct from the capital—announced in the early afternoon that it would dispatch inflatable canoes, 4X4 ambulances, two helicopters, trucks carrying food supplies, drinking water, and equipment to the affected city.
