South American flooding in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay has led to the displacement of as many as 150,000 people.
"In Paraguay's capital, Asuncion, 125,000 homes were without power as electricity distribution centers were knocked out across the country," said
NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro. "Rescue operations are also underway to bring stranded families to safety. The mayor of one town in Uruguay called it the worst flooding in 50 years."
"In Argentina, the country's vice president traveled to one of the affected regions to assess the damage. The wet weather is being blamed on the El Nino phenomenon, which affects the climate of the whole region. While there are floods in the southern cones, drought has been affecting parts of Colombia, and reservoirs are running dry there."
It was the worst flooding in Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay, along with Brazil, in 50 years, said
BBC News.
The Paraguay River was more than five meters above its normal levels, according to the website
Floodlist.com. Nearly 200 electricity pylons had been damaged or destroyed in Paraguay by strong winds, causing power outages, said BBC News.
Floodlist.com said flooding had been affecting Paraguay since early December.
In the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, nearly 40 municipalities had suffered damage due to flooding. About 9,000 people had been forced to evacuate there because of the rising water.
The Uruguay River rose three meters above alert levels and six meters above normal levels in the municipality of Uruguaiana in Brazil.
In Argentina, about 20,000 were evacuated from the border city of Concordia, where the Uruguay River jumped 46 feet above normal levels, said BBC News. The flooding affected the northeastern provinces of Entre Rios, Corrientes and Chaco.
In Uruguay, more than 11,000 people were evacuated because of overflowing rivers, said Floodlist.com. Uruguay cities of Salto, Paysandú, Artigas, Río Negro and Florida were all affected by flooding.
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