During this Thursday morning, the provincial Minister of Government and Justice, Mauro Urribarri, and the mayor of Concordia, Enrique Cresto, flew over the areas of the city currently being affected by the rising of the Uruguay River.
Minister Urribarri pointed out that this aerial monitoring, in which the Chief of Police, Gustavo Maslein, was also present, allowed for a more complete overview of the situation. “It is important to closely follow the situation, observe how the water ingress is affecting us in some sectors of the city, and from there make the decisions that allow us to mitigate this situation,” explained Urribarri.
Likewise, he indicated that assistance with resources and the presence of the different areas of the provincial cabinet, such as Health and Social Development, will continue for as long as necessary. "By order of Governor Gustavo Bordet, we are at the disposal of the Municipality and the residents of Concordia who are suffering from the river's rise,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mayor Cresto pointed out that “the important thing is that for the immediate basin, no rain is forecast for the coming days,” and remarked that this outlook provides peace of mind because it is a different situation from that of 2015, in which “it was raining in all three basins, generating a lot of flow.”
At the same time, the municipal leader stated that “we are assisting those who are in the evacuation centers with health operations and everything that is necessary,” and reported that Governor Bordet and the national Minister of the Interior, Public Works and Housing, Rogelio Frigerio, will be in the city this Friday.
Urribarri and Cresto analyzed the performance of the South Defense and the expansion currently being carried out, protecting one more sector of the city; and they also observed the operation of the Salto Grande dam and the reservoir levels upstream.
Finally, both officials flew over the area where 70 families were relocated on the Agua Patito property, to which another 30 families will be added in the coming weeks. In that sense, Cresto stated that “the decision we made was to convene the Relocation Commission to be able to advance on those homes and leave them in conditions to be able to take this number of families, who currently had to be evacuated as they lived on the banks of the Manzores stream."