Floods drive evacuations and cattle moves across South America

Heavy rain linked to El Niño has flooded parts of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, forcing residents from their homes and prompting ranchers to move cattle to higher ground. In Argentina’s Ayolas, more than 2,000 people left their homes, mayor Carlos Duarte told a local radio station.

He said the Paraná River had reached its highest level in the town in more than four decades and could rise further. Flooding has also driven evacuations in Argentina’s Corrientes province. In Ituzaingo, the Paraná River reached 15.4 feet on Thursday, and residents evacuated there and in other towns across the province.

Provincial officials said they were digging canals and installing drains ahead of further heavy rain. A separate account describes severe flooding in Corrientes, Entre Ríos and Misiones, with hundreds of people evacuated. It also reports increased inflows into the Uruguay and Paraná rivers.

The reports describe impacts across multiple locations, with the largest specific evacuation figure given for Ayolas; they do not provide a single combined total for those displaced across the region. The flooding has also affected cattle operations: ranchers have been moving livestock to higher ground as water covers areas of South America.

The reports do not give a count of cattle moved or specify losses to livestock, farms or infrastructure. El Niño-linked rainfall is the stated weather context for the flooding. One account says forecasters considered this year’s El Niño potentially among the strongest on record.

Another says the phenomenon was expected to peak between October and December and continue through the Southern Hemisphere summer. These are forecasts, not a confirmed measure of the event’s eventual strength or duration. The reports also describe preparations and evacuations as rain and river levels remain concerns.

Duarte said the Paraná could rise further in Ayolas, while provincial officials described drainage work intended to prepare for more heavy rain. The accounts do not give a regional forecast total or specify how many additional evacuations might be required.

The immediate documented effects are displacement, cattle movements and public works to manage water in affected Argentine provinces. The reporting identifies heavy rain and swollen river flows but gives no casualty figures, comprehensive damage assessment or final count of people evacuated across Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.