El Niño storms unleash floods and landslides across Latin America from Mexico to Chile
El Niño-driven storms this week caused flooding, landslides and a coastal collapse from Mexico through Paraguay to Argentina, Chile and Peru, killing at least three people.
An intensifying El Niño weather pattern triggered a week of extreme storms across Latin America, flooding rivers, toppling structures and claiming lives. In Paraguay, rising waters of the Parana River displaced about 4,200 families, with two dozen seeking refuge in a church in Ciudad del Este and a 58-year-old woman dying when her home collapsed. Mexico’s Pacific tourist town of San Pancho saw a luxury condominium tilt after surf eroded the supporting sand.
Argentina’s Corrientes province reported two farm workers killed while herding cattle away from inundated areas, while Santiago, Chile experienced a mudslide after a swollen stream burst its banks. Peru’s government pledged 18 billion soles in aid and tax breaks for businesses damaged by the coastal deluge, and the World Meteorological Organization projected central Pacific temperatures rising about 3.8 °C above average through December, heralding one of the most turbulent storm seasons on record.
Why it matters
The widespread flooding highlights El Niño’s growing impact on lives, infrastructure and economies across Latin America.
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