Argentina has announced three days of national mourning yesterday after authorities raised the death toll from recent flash flooding to 16, with more still missing.
The deadly floods struck Friday when a year’s worth of rain fell in a matter of hours in and around Bahia Blanca, a major port city located in the south of Buenos Aires province, with entire neighborhoods inundated by the fast-rising waters.
The Latin American nation has been particularly shaken by tragic reports of two girls, aged one and five, being swept away in the torrent.
Provincial security minister Javier Alonso confirmed their disappearance Sunday, saying the sisters had climbed onto the roof of a van with their mother to escape the rising waters when a surge ripped them away. Their mother was rescued.
Also Bahia Blanca Mayor Federico Susbielles, meanwhile, told a press conference that the flooding had caused $400 million in infrastructure damage.
