A. Situation analysis
Description of the disaster
Heavy rains in April, as well as a tornado, have caused flooding and destroyed homes in various areas in Uruguay. According to Uruguay's National Emergency System's (SINAE) 21 April 2016 report, both events have displaced more than 10,000 people.
On the afternoon of Friday, 15 April 2016, a strong tornado touched down in the city of Dolores in the department of Soriano, affecting mainly the city's downtown area. Departmental authorities indicated that the phenomenon was "very large" and more powerful than the one that occurred in 2012. The tornado's "funnel" began forming a little after 16:00h over western suburban areas of the city, later moving toward downtown across General Fructuoso Rivera Street. A few seconds later, it veered south, causing major damage to the area between Rivera (to the west), Route 21, the Juan Manuel Blanes perimeter road and Paso de la Arena road (to the east). The most affected neighbourhoods were Altos de Dolores, Santa Marta, Italia Chica, Florencio and downtown areas.
The atmospheric phenomenon wreaked havoc on local homes, streets and businesses (at a transport company's facilities, winds overturned two buses leaving one person trapped) and caused problems to communications.
Soriano's local authorities issued a communiqué informing that the injured had been transferred to the departmental hospital and to the Cooperative Medical Assistance-Soriano (CAMS for its acronym in Spanish) clinic. Local aid groups working in the area have arranged for mattresses and cleaning materials to be sent to the affected areas.
At the same time as the tornado, flooding was reported across Uruguay. The Uruguayan Meteorology Institute upgraded the warning level to orange for the entire country due to strong storms and heavy rainfall. An atmospheric disturbance connected to a humid and unstable air mass caused strong thunderstorms, and heavy rainfall (50 to 100 mm in 6 hours), wind gusts of up to 120 km/h, intense electrical activity and occasional hail storms are expected.
So far, 36 roads are blocked and rivers and streams have risen significantly, which has led to the evacuation of 2,648 people and 7,699 self-evacuations, for a total of 10,347 people displaced from their homes, as detailed below: (see attached PDF)