MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguay: 700 families left homeless by storm

Undone repair works have kept relief teams from providing adequate assistance

A severe storm system swept across central and southern Paraguay over the weekend, generating destructive winds and causing widespread damage. Additionally, separate, sustained rainfall in the Chaco region threatens to isolate communities due to impassable roads.

The storm, which hit with winds ranging from 90 to 110 km/h left more than 700 families homeless, Paraguay's National Emergency Secretary Arsenio Zárate explained.

The department of Cordillera was one of the hardest-hit areas, with significant damage also reported in Guairá (Borja and Bottrell), Itapúa (Carmen del Paraná and Cambyretá), and Ñeembucú (Pilar).

The storm knocked down trees, partially blocking streets, and caused major power outages. Thousands of users lost their electricity supply due to “tremendous” damage, according to National Electricity Administration (ANDE) Distribution Director José González.

Volunteer firefighters responded to 13 fires and 35 traffic accidents caused by the weather, with at least 11 people sustaining injuries. In the Franco Isla district of Carapeguá, a lightning strike during the storm killed seven cattle.

Authorities are currently focused on providing humanitarian aid, including metal sheets, mattresses, and blankets, to the affected families.

Meanwhile, in the Alto Paraguay region of the Chaco, communities are grappling with poor road conditions exacerbated by continuous, though not severe, rainfall since Thursday. Residents fear they will be cut off again —a situation they endured for over 100 days previously— because the necessary road repairs, which involve raising embankments and installing drainage, have not been carried out.

Despite the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) announcing the awarding of repair contracts on August 25, a lack of funds and the absence of clearance from the Economy Ministry have prevented work from starting. Hence, local officials are only “profiling or scraping” the roads with limited machinery while livestock farmers in the area are moving large numbers of animals and stockpiling goods to avoid being caught off guard by renewed isolation.