No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeEl NiñoEl Niño-related flooding causes snake invasion, beach closures in Argentina

El Niño-related flooding causes snake invasion, beach closures in Argentina

ROSARIO, Argentina — An invasion of poisonous snakes washed downriver in recent floods forced authorities to close beaches to summer holidaymakers in northern Argentina, officials said Monday.

Floodwaters in the Río Plata and Río Paraná carried a species of water lily and with it countless crawling, slithering creatures, south to beaches at the mouths of those rivers near Buenos Aires.

“We are raising awareness of the risk and danger present today. There are otters and species of snakes that are poisonous,” said Matías Leyes, an official in the coastal town of Quilmes, south of the capital.

“The beaches of Quilmes have been closed as a precaution. We were cleaning up the coast during the week and while doing so we saw the snakes under the water lilies.”

Inland river beaches were also closed over the weekend in the northern city of Rosario.

Locals there spotted displaced animals such as otters, a wild boar and a fox cub as well as snakes, scorpions and stinging insects.

Water covered the beaches and even the terraces of seaside bars in Rosario, as summer temperatures reached 40 degrees Celsius.

“It is dangerous because when there is not much beach there is more risk of coming into direct contact with rodents or snakes, whose dens are all flooded,” said Gonzalo Ratner, a top civil defense official in Rosario.

Experts have blamed severe flooding in recent weeks in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay on the El Niño extreme weather phenomenon.

Trending Now

A Closer Look at the Elusive Purple Gallinule in Costa Rica

Quick! Think of a purple bird! It’s a little difficult, right? I searched my brain and came up with a purple martin. A small...

Costa Rica Fails to Meet Human Rights Standards for Deportees

The Ombudsman's Office has confirmed that Costa Rica was unprepared to provide adequate care for deportees who have entered the country since February. This...

Cosby Show Star Malcolm-Jamal Warner Dies in Costa Rica Drowning Accident

Malcolm-Jamal Warner passed away at 54 from an accidental drowning. He gained fame as Theo Huxtable on "The Cosby Show," playing the son in...

Venezuelan Migrants Describe Torture After Deportation to El Salvador

“You’re going to rot in here. You’ll spend 300 years in prison.” That’s what Maikel Olivera says guards repeatedly told him during his four-month...

Costa Rica Tops Latin America in Attracting Foreign Millionaires

Costa Rica is a country that attracts millionaires. Projections indicate that by the end of 2025, a total of 350 foreign millionaires will have...

Panama Removed from EU High-Risk List, but Tax Haven Status Remains

The film The Laundromat, starring Meryl Streep, damaged Panama's reputation by drawing inspiration from a real-life story: the global scandal that erupted a decade...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica