MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Heavy rainstorms in Asunción leave at least 3 people dead

Several families were also evacuated from their homes

After no casualties were reported initially following heavy rainfalls in the Paraguayan capítal of Asunción, fresh reports Wednesday mentioned that at least three people had died, in addition to houses and schools destroyed.

The storm that hit the Central Department and other areas of Paraguay between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning left three people dead, families displaced from their homes, houses, and schools unroofed, and countless damages in the streets.

In San Lorenzo, 34 years old Sergio Ortiz died Tuesday when the storm caused the collapse of one of the walls of his house, according to Telefuturo. The other family members had to be evacuated.

According to Paraguay's Meteorology and Hydrology Department, the rainfall registered during Tuesday's storm reached 70 millimeters. The highest amount of rainfall was in San Lorenzo.

A 2-year-old girl also died after being dragged into a small stream in the Ka'aguy Rory area. Última Hora reported. According to her father, the girl was sleeping in her room and the mother went to get some things from a neighbor's house and when she returned she did not find her daughter, presuming that she left the house and was swept away by the current. Firefighters eventually found the body 700 meters from the house.

In Villeta, a man was also swept away by the flood when he was crossing a bridge in the vicinity of the stop of the 232 La Villetana bus line. At about 3 pm Wednesday, the Villeta Fire Department reported the recovery of a lifeless body. The details of the deceased are unknown so far.

The rain that fell between Tuesday and Wednesday caused the stream a few meters from the Municipality of Lambaré to overflow, with traffic on Luis María Argaña Street being interrupted for several minutes.

In Asunción, the 2nd Santísima Trinidad Company of the Paraguayan Volunteer Fire Brigade (CBVP) reported that the firehouse personnel carried out rescue work on Itapúa Street near Molas López. This is the same street where a child, hugging a tree, was rescued by a man in the middle of a heavy flood on Tuesday night.

Several areas of Asunción were flooded Tuesday after heavy rains fell, causing havoc and damages, it was reported.

Vehicles were swept away by the raging current, a bus was trapped by the waters, and a child nearly drowned in some of the separate incidents which went viral on social media and news outlets.

Paraguayan Weather Forecasters also explained a storm system continued to stretch nationwide with additional severe weather not ruled out in Asunción for the next few hours with heavy rains with moderate to strong thunderstorms, strong to very strong wind gusts, and occasional hail.

“I regret like everyone else, living in a flooded city and I know, that our duty is to provide solutions. For this reason, I am committed to seeking an Asunción without floods,” Asunción Mayor Óscar Nenecho Rodríguez wrote in a tweet.

“The works being carried out in Molas López are precisely storm drainage works,” he added. In that area, images of a child clinging to a tree to avoid being carried away by an impetuous current went viral Tuesday. A man successfully rescued the child with the help of a rope.

Otra zona de Asunción, avenida Molas López.

Un niño abrazado a un árbol y un hombre llega hasta el niño con un piola con la que lo ataja. TERRIBLE! pic.twitter.com/yOrvbj6PXW

— Patricia Vargas (@patriciavargasq) March 22, 2022