Several injured, cars completely destroyed and a festival suspended
.
These were some of the consequences of a
strong storm with hail the size of tennis balls that hit the city of
Villa Mercedes
, in
San Luis
, on Thursday night
.
The chaos began minutes before 11:00 p.m. The rain, the wind and the ice stones surprised the residents of the town, especially those who were enjoying the 34th Narrow Street National Festival and who ran desperately in search of refuge. .
According to the local press,
there would be one death
: a 70-year-old man who was at the scene and who suffered heart failure.
On its first night, the festival had to be cancelled.
Many of the people who were on the property received severe blows from the hail.
The most serious, with
injuries mainly to the head
, had to be attended by volunteer firefighters from El Fortín and by Civil Defense personnel.
Hail the size of tennis balls in Villa Mercedes, San Luis: several injured and cars totaled
Vehicles parked in the area were also affected.
According to local media, about 80 percent of the cars ended up with some glass broken or completely broken, as well as dents in the bodywork.
Hail the size of tennis balls in Villa Mercedes, San Luis: several injured and cars totaled
The affected neighbors began to spread photos and videos of the ice balls, surprised by their size.
In the images they showed that the stones were not smooth, but had a kind of spikes.
Its particular characteristics made the hail more dangerous and harmful.
Many of the injured were transferred to different health centers, especially the Juan Domingo Perón Regional Polyclinic.
Hail the size of tennis balls in Villa Mercedes, San Luis: several injured and cars totaled
The storm also caused power outages in various areas of the city, as well as flooded streets and downed trees.
Hail the size of tennis balls in Villa Mercedes, San Luis: several injured and cars totaled
The Municipality reported that the storm has finished passing through the city.
For this reason, members of Urban Control, Civil Defense, Firefighters and the traffic team walk the streets to assess the damage and assist the victims.
In addition, they recommended that the population not leave their homes and avoid circulating on the streets until dawn.
Alert for strong storms and extreme heat for Buenos Aires and ten other provinces
The National Meteorological Service (SMN) issued in the last hours
yellow alerts for storms
for sectors of the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Córdoba, San Luis, Mendoza and San Juan, and another for winds for the entire territory of Tierra del Fuego .
There is also a
warning for extreme temperatures due to heat
for towns in Misiones, Corrientes, Formosa, Chaco, Salta and Buenos Aires.
In the center of the country, the areas affected by storms of varying intensity, some of which may be locally strong, are the south of Córdoba, the north of La Pampa and almost all of the province of San Luis.
In these areas, accumulated precipitation values between 20 and 45 mm are expected, which may be exceeded in a timely manner, as predicted by the SMN.
The yellow level also extends to the east of San Juan, to the Northeast of Mendoza and to a large part of the center of the Province of Buenos Aires, in localities such as Azul, Rauch, Tapalqué, the lower area of Benito Juárez, Tandil, Bolívar and Pehuajó.
According to the SMN, the areas will be affected by storms that will be accompanied by
intense gusts, occasional hail
, strong electrical activity and abundant rainfall in short periods.
look too
Alert for strong storms and extreme heat for Buenos Aires and ten other provinces
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