The National Emergency System, or Sinae, reported on Saturday the number of displaced persons in the four provinces on Uruguay's west coast due to severe flooding has risen to 23, 571, according to Fox News Latino.
The Sinae report says that 2,322 were evacuated and 21,249 abandoned their dwellings without government aid.
Heavy rainfalls recently caused the Uruguay River to overflow, and especially its Cuaresma tributary, which runs through the northern city of Atiga. The department of Artigas was the worst affected area with 10,545 evacuated, while 6,701 in Paysandu and 5,804 in Salto were also forced from their homes, while two people were reported dead, according to officals, according to Yahoo News.
The floods caused significant damage and displacement in Bella Union and Rio Negro regions as well, according to TeleSUR.
In the city of Bella Union the Uruguay river level is now at 8.7 meters, 2 meters above the 6.5 meter freeboard, while the river currently flows at 9.1 meters in Paysandu, where it's normally around 5.5 meters.
The army has been providing support to the evacuees stationed in numerous makeshift campsites, temporary shelters and private homes. One evacuee, Griselda, who is currently staying in an emergency area in Paysandu, told El Pais the army bring food baskets consisting of oil, flour, noodles and sugar, according to TeleSur.
Sinae warned that once river levels were back to normal, the population will still be at risk due to the presence of bacteria and the demands forced upon the health care system, stating that "returning home can only be done without risk after the cleaning and disinfection of the affected areas have been carried out," according to Yahoo News.
