Argentina - The Salado River has taken everything away
Roque from Argentina on flooding in Santa Fe City
this testimony
On April 28, 2003, the Salado river burst its banks flooding and submerging Santa Fe City within a few hours. At the time, two local residents spoke of what happened.
Verónica Fernández, 21, was trying to escape by boat with 22 other people when the waters roared into the Centenario neighbourhood. They capsized and Verónica lost hold of her baby son Uriel – he was only 21 days old. Verónica´s life was saved by a young man who used their clothes and belts to tie them to the pillar of a football stadium. After four hours, they were both rescued: “I don’t know what happened all that time. All I was thinking of was that my children were not there. I found consolation by thinking someone had rescued them in the same way they did with me. I thought I would find him [Uriel], that someone had rescued him, and he was safe.” After three days of restless search, Uriel´s corpse was found. ¨If the man hadn´t been there, I would have drowned. Perhaps that would have been for the best because now I feel very bad. I don´t know what to do.¨
From a refugee center Gladys Kosaka, 35, explained why she didn´t want to go back home. ¨There´s nothing, no light and it smells repulsive. The Salado River has taken everything away. Now he can keep the land; I don´t want it any more. I couldn't live through this again.¨ Gladys lives in an old Belgrano railroad building. The central hall is partitioned allowing each family a small degree of privacy. There are no mattresses and only two showers for more than 100 people.
background
Experts concluded that the rains preceding the disaster were the highest on record causing the "collapse of the natural course of drainage waters". It was not the first huge flood in Argentina, but undoubtedly it left the biggest number of climate refugees: more than 40,000 people without a roof, without clothes, without a history.
The provincial government was heavily criticized for ignoring warnings about the possibility of a sudden rise of the Salado River, and for ignoring appeals to build the necessary preventive infrastructure to contain or divert floods.
Four years later, one Santa Fe resident is still angry "They flooded our houses, our neighbourhoods. They didn't warn us, they didn't tell us and they knew." Yet compensation has been painstakingly slow for the flood victims. After the 2003 flood, the Carpa Negra de los Inundados, ´Black tent of those affected by the flood´, was organized to coordinate the claims of flooded neighbourhoods. Jose Castro is a member of Carpa Negra and Human Rights House in Santa Fe and believes that compensation should include more jobs, education and health for the people. Despite the slowness of the government's response, Jose is clear “We must not be afraid, if we are not able to stand fighting they will deceive us for good”.
In May 2007, Santa Fe City and Rosario, a city of one million about 180 km to the south of Santa Fe, received more than 500mm of rain in two days leading to the highest May rainfall on record. Again the influx of water was unstoppable and the pumping stations proved insufficient. This time however, the early warning prevented the high toll in human lives of the Salado River flood.
Roque Pedace, Friends of the Earth Argentina discussing the continuing legacy of the 2003 Salado River flood in Argentina
