Authorites: One dead, three missing in Argentina floods

Rescuers in Argentina were searching on Sunday for three people missing in floods that killed one man and forced almost 3,000 to flee their homes, authorities said.

Heavy rain has pounded the capital Buenos Aires and surrounding Buenos Aires Province, cutting off main roads, submerging fields and causing rivers to burst their banks.

The director of Civil Defence for Buenos Aires Province, Fabián García said Sunday in a radio interview that a missing man had been found dead, with three others still unaccounted for.

García said 1,945 people had sought shelter in evacuation centers, and that "a very large number" of other residents had fled their homes to stay with relatives.

A storm that lasted until the early hours of Sunday dumped five times the usual May rainfall on the province, said Cindy Fernández from the National Meteorological Service.

The national and provincial governments launched emergency operations to dispatch rescue vehicles, as well as food, water and blankets to flood victims.

– TIMES/AFP