Uruguay: Tornado in Dolores

Last Friday April 15, at 16.30, a tornado hit the village of Dolores, Dpt. Soriano, 15 km. from the Uruguay River, in south western Uruguay, without warning. Dolores has a population of approximately 20,000. The tornado, considered as an F3, cut through the middle of the town travelling from West to Northeast, destroying everything in its path for 800 m. A third of this city`s population has been affected. Until now, we have registered 4 deaths, 12 persons disappeared, and more than 500 wounded, mostly children. A primary school, the secondary school and the local Hospital are seriously damaged, as well as near 1,000 houses and other buildings. Many of the damaged buildings are still at risk of collapsing. People have been taken in by neighbours and family, others in improvised shelters set up by local authorities. It continues to rain, causing some flooding, making it difficult to save personal belongings from damaged buildings. If the rain doesn`t stop, there will be health problems in addition to the existing housing problems.

Alerts_06_Tornado Uruguay