Where Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay meet, the great rivers have burst their banks. Days of torrential rain tied to an unusually powerful El Niño have lifted all three main waterways of the region, Paraná, Uruguay and Iguazú, far above normal, and on Friday the water was still spreading across farmland and riverside towns.
Paraguay is bearing the brunt so far. Local leader Carlos Duarte reports that upwards of 2,000 residents of Ayolas, a riverside town facing Argentina, have had to move out. The river there stands higher than at any point in over four decades, and he warned it could climb further.
Across the water in Ituzaingó, Corrientes province, gauges showed 4.7 metres on Thursday, and families there were moved to shelters as well. Corrientes, Chaco, Misiones and Entre Ríos are all affected. Ranchers have been driving herds through knee-deep pastures, with tens of thousands of animals moved to drier ground, while provincial crews dig ditches and drains ahead of the next downpour.
Even a world-famous sight has been caught up in the floods. Earlier this week the Iguazú carried more than 12,000 cubic metres of water per second, roughly eight times its usual flow, and the national park briefly shut. Visitors are back on most paths, yet the footbridge leading out to the Garganta del Diablo, the largest cascade, is still off limits.
Uruguay is coping with water released from the Salto Grande dam it operates jointly with Argentina. The gradual opening of the gates has flooded low-lying districts downstream and left dozens displaced.
All three rivers rise in southern Brazil, where forecasters expect above-average rain until December. Meteorologists say the current El Niño may rank among the strongest ever measured, so the region is bracing for more.
