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2025 Bahía Blanca floods

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2025 Bahia Blanca floods
The flooded city on 7 March
Date7 March 2025 – ongoing
LocationBahía Blanca, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina
CauseFlash floods
Deaths16[1] (as of 17 March 2025)
Missing2[2] (as of 14 March 2025)

On 7 March 2025, Bahía Blanca and neighboring cities, in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, were flooded in the aftermath of unusually intense rainfall. The disaster caused serious material damage, thousands of evacuations, at least 16 deaths, and over 200 disappearances.

Overview

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During the first week of March 2025, a series of intense storms began to develop in the southeastern region of the province of Buenos Aires.[3][4][5] The National Meteorological Service had issued alerts for intense rainfall, but the magnitude of the event exceeded forecasts. In just a few hours, the city of Bahía Blanca received an estimated precipitation of 290 millimetres (11 in), being the most devastating rainfall in Argentina since 1975 and over half of the average annual precipitation in the city of 584 millimetres (23.0 in).[6][1]

16 deaths have been reported as a result of the flooding, as well as at least 222 disappearances.[1] Of that number of missing people, only three were not found by 12 March.[7] As of 14 March, only two people, sisters Delfina and Pilar Hecker, remain missing.[2]

Meteorological conditions

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Note that from 4:11 AM until 10:29 AM, the colors are not visible, this is due to the extreme intensity of the rain, which obscures the radar scan.

For several days before the event, a very humid and hot air mass from the Amazon dominated the center and north of the country. Instability levels remained high, and various disturbances swept through the area, causing severe weather.

On March 7, 2025, thunderstorms began to develop in the early hours of the morning in central La Pampa Province, rapidly evolving into strong storms. As the hours passed, these storms continued to intensify, forming a line of instability.

Around 3 AM, the line of instability began to slowly advance eastward-southeastward, entering Buenos Aires Province. Minutes before reaching the town of Bahía Blanca, the line of storms slowed its advance and continued to intensify, thus becoming a cloudburst.

This storm system remained practically static over Bahía Blanca (and surrounding towns) around 4 AM, and for several hours, it continuously regenerated and intensified, leaving significant precipitation and thunderstorms. It wasn't until around 10 AM that this storm system managed to continue moving, now in an east-northeast direction.

The video shows radar images. Green indicates light rain, yellow indicates moderate rain and thunderstorms, and red, fuchsia, and white indicates very heavy rain, hail, and strong or severe thunderstorms. The orange lines forming polygons are the successive short-term advisories issued by the National Meteorological Service, warning of the danger of the event.[8]

Reactions

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Domestic

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The disaster prompted a national humanitarian effort; non-perishable food, hygiene elements, and cleaning supplies have been donated from across Argentina.[9]

President Javier Milei did not visit Bahía Blanca in the immediate aftermath of the flooding, which was harshly criticized by various opposition figures, including former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.[10] Milei eventually made an unannounced trip to the city on 12 March,[11] later explaining that his delayed reaction was to avoid distracting from relief efforts.[12]

International

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  •  Italy: Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her "deepest condolences to the victims of the floods that hit several cities in Argentina" on her X account. The Italian government renews its support for the Argentine authorities committed to the relief and assistance efforts for the affected population".
  •  Israel: In a tweet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lamented the floods and referred to President Milei as a "dear friend".[13]
  •  Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lamented the flooding during a phone call with President Milei concerning the Russia–Ukraine war.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Avramow, Matías (17 March 2025). "Las imágenes satelitales que muestran la magnitud de la inundación de Bahía Blanca" [The satellital images that show the magnitude of the Bahía Blanca flood]. La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Encontraron con vida al joven correntino que había desaparecido en Bahía Blanca" [Young man from Corrientes who had disappeared in Bahía Blanca, found alive]. Infobae (in Spanish). 14 March 2025. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  3. ^ "Pronóstico del clima: Marzo comienza con lluvias intensas". Radio Mitre. 2025-03-04. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
  4. ^ "¿Siguen las lluvias en Buenos Aires?: cómo estará el tiempo este sábado 8 de marzo de 2025". Canal26. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
  5. ^ Súnico Ainchil, Camila (2025-03-07). "Cambia por completo el tiempo en la ciudad de Buenos Aires: tormentas intensas y fuerte descenso de temperaturas". LA NACION. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
  6. ^ "Argentina: confirman trece muertos por las inundaciones en Bahía Blanca". El Comercio. 2025-03-08. ISSN 1605-3052. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
  7. ^ Herman, Gonzalo; Martos, Malena Nazareth (12 March 2025). "Temporal en Bahía Blanca: las personas desaparecidas que aún busca la Justicia y la buena noticia en medio del horror" [Storm in Bahía Blanca: the missing people still sought by the Justice, and the good news amid the horror]. Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  8. ^ "1 a 10/3 - Continuidad tiempo extremadamente cálido N, muy inestable y húmedo C. FF al final. [Temporal Bahía] - foro.gustfront.com.ar". foro.gustfront.com.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-03-11.
  9. ^ Caminos, Alejandro (17 March 2025). "Continúan las donaciones para Bahía Blanca, a más de una semana del temporal" [Donations for Bahía Blanca continue after a week of the storm]. Infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  10. ^ "Dura crítica de Cristina Kirchner a Javier Milei porque no viajó a Bahía Blanca tras el temporal" [Harsh criticism from Cristina Kirchner to Javier Milei because he did not travel to Bahía Blanca after the storm]. TN (in Spanish). 11 March 2025. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  11. ^ Chaves, Facundo (12 March 2025). "Milei en Bahía Blanca: un viaje sorpresivo, reunión con el intendente y la angustia por Delfina y Pilar Hecker" [Milei in Bahía Blanca: a surprising trip, reunion with the mayor, and distress for Delfina and Pilar Hecker]. Infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  12. ^ El Intransigente team (14 March 2025). "Javier Milei sobre su tardía visita a Bahía Blanca: «Tuve que elegir entre la foto o salvar vidas»" [Javier Milei on his late visit to Bahía Blanca: "I had to choose between the picture and saving lives"]. El Intransigente (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 March 2025. Milei subrayó que su decisión fue entre «la foto linda que le gusta a la política o salvar vidas» y aseguró que optó por la segunda. «Si yo voy el primer día, cada uno de los grupos se pone a explicarme lo que tienen que hacer. Por lo tanto, esa tarea puede demandar por lo menos cinco horas y ahí cada minuto cuenta para salvar vidas humanas», agregó. [Milei emphasized that his decision was between "the pretty picture that politicians like, or saving lives" and asserted that he opted for the latter. "If I go on the first day, each group will explain to me what they have to do. Therefore, that task can take at least five hours, and every minute counts in saving lives," he added.]
  13. ^ Netanyahu, Benjamin [@netanyahu] (11 March 2025). "My dear friend @JMilei, On behalf of all Israelis, I send my heartfelt condolences to you and the families of those who tragically perished in Bahía Blanca following the horrific floods. The people of Israel stand with Argentina at this difficult hour" (Tweet). Retrieved 17 March 2025 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "Javier Milei dialogó con Volodímir Zelenski y le agradeció su solidaridad con Bahía Blanca" [Javier Milei talked with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and thanked him for his solidarity with Bahía Blanca]. Ámbito (in Spanish). 17 March 2025. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
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