Storm in Buenos Aires Damages Agriculture

The heavy rains and storms on Monday and Tuesday affected the planted areas in the province of Buenos Aires, especially in the cities of Bolívar, Daireaux, and Urdampilleta. Rains, strong winds, and hail impacted many localities in Buenos Aires province, flooding the access roads to the fields. The heaviest rainfall was recorded in the cities of Bolívar and Daireaux, in the center of the province, with more than 110 millimeters falling in a few hours. In the town of Urdampilleta, located between the two cities, the storm's epicenter was observed with hail and strong gusts that caused damage. The roads were in deplorable condition before this, and now with 180 to 200 millimeters, it is impossible to travel, according to reports from those areas. «You can't even pass in a tractor,» reported the Rural Society of Bolívar. In the early morning hours of Tuesday, strong storms were recorded in the west-central part of Buenos Aires. Carbap estimated that the affected area is close to five million hectares. Previously, the big problem was up to Las Flores, but today from Las Flores towards the sea, everything is also having many problems. Perhaps they are not completely flooded, but they are very affected, explained the entity. In addition to the reduction in the area available for livestock, there are complications for advancing with the sowing of soybeans and corn, and the impossibility of transporting inputs or production on many roads. The heaviest rains in recent hours fell on the west of Buenos Aires and the east of La Pampa, a region that already showed large bodies of water grown to the edge of the roads. A large volume of water will flow downstream towards the districts of 9 de Julio and Carlos Casares, which are in a critical situation. From there, the flow of water to the sea through the Salado River is slow due to the lack of dredging works.