Argentinian rescuers search for bodies after devastating floods

[Bacchus4.0]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/05/argentinian-rescuers-search-bodies-floods

Argentinian police and soldiers searched house to house, in creeks and culverts, and even in trees for bodies on Thursday after floods killed at least 57 people in the province and city of Buenos Aires.

As torrential rains stopped and the waters receded, the crisis shifted to guaranteeing public health and safety in La Plata, the capital of Buenos Aires province with a population of nearly 1 million people. Safe drinking water was in short supply, and more than a quarter of a million people were without power, although authorities said most would get their lights back on overnight.

Many people barely escaped with their lives after seeing everything they owned disappear under water reeking with sewage and fuel that rose nearly two metres (6ft) high inside some homes. The wreckage was overwhelming: piles of broken furniture, overturned cars, ruined food and other debris.

Their frustration was uncontainable as politicians arrived making promises. The president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the governor Daniel Scioli, the social welfare minister Alicia Kirchner and the mayors of Buenos Aires and La Plata were all booed when they tried to talk to victims. Many yelled: "Go away" and "You came too late."