MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Flooding and mudslides isolate Ushuaia

Tierra del Fuego was gradually returning to normal Sunday evening following torrential rains, flooding and mudslides which left Ushuaia and Rio Grande isolated and with no drinking water.

Argentina's Minister of Interior Anibal Fernandez and Tierra del Fuego province Hugo Coccaro inspected Sunday the areas under emergency and anticipated that the situation was "under control" and that in the coming hours "land traffic would be restored".

Heavy rains together with a dramatic change in temperature from minus 3 to plus 10 degrees Celsius beginning last Thursday plunged tons of water with melted snow and ice sweeping away the main route which crosses the island connecting Rio Grande with the capital Ushuaia.

"The river Turbio literally burst and cut two huge trenches, ten and thirty metres wide across Highway 3. So far heavy equipment from the local government managed to dump ten thousand metres of rock and we're working on a water escape to drain into Lake Fagnano", said Governor Cóccaro.

An air bridge with a Fokker F27 and Twin Otters was established between Ushuaia, Rio Grande and Comodoro Rivadavia which enabled to fly in thousands of liters of mineral water mainly to Rio Grande, and its 65.000 residents since the water treatment plant was knocked out by flooding.

"We have no records of such severe flooding caused by rain and thaw", said Rio Grande mayor Jorge Martin.

Tierra del Fuego remains under "land route emergency" and all schools have been shut down until transport and drinking water facilities are back to normal.

Just in case the Argentine Ministry of Defence sent by Hercules C-130 two portable drinking water plants to support the local service.

No loss of lives has been reported and a damage assessment will be done once the situation is back to normal promised Governor Cóccaro. However primary reports indicate significant losses of livestock.

Although no specific links have been proved yet, the Rio Grande Astronomy Station registered late last Saturday evening a moderate tremor, 3.6 degrees Ritcher scale, with epicenter in Sierra Nevada, forty miles north of Ushuaia and in the north shore of lake Fagnano.

Ushuaia residents and from suburban areas rang local authorities to report the seismic phenomena but no damages were claimed. However, the slight tremor was not felt by residents in Rio Grande or Tolhuin the other two major urban areas in Tierra del Fuego.

Last January another similar tremor was registered in Ushuaia with a 2.8 intensity.

According to local geologists the Magallanes fault which cuts across Tierra del Fuego to the north of Lake Fagnano where the tectonic South American and Scotia plaques are constantly in friction is the cause of the seismic turbulence in the extreme south of Argentina.