the waters kept rising...

Recent events in Uruguay have made the headlines in publications far beyond the country's borders:

"Flooding has caused thousands of people to evacuate their homes in Uruguay after the worst flooding to hit the country for half a century." (http://www.itv.com/news/world_bdd998df33750455b8e0d07e315f5bfc.html)

"(AP) - MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay-Lawmakers on Thursday declared a "national emergency," speeding relief aid to more than 12,000 people left homeless by floods." (http://news.lp.findlaw.com/ap/o/55/05-10-2007/2f360008c36bd48f.html)

"The United Nations is mobilizing a Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team for deployment to Uruguay early next week in the wake of the worst floods to hit the country in half a century." (http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=22525&Cr=uruguay&Cr1=)

A topic that comes up in conversation regularly here in Uruguay is that of global warming. I've already mentioned a couple of instances in this blog--a conversation I had with a university student about the melting of Argentina's Perito Moreno glacier; the abundance of butterflies at Iguazú and the now unpredictable wet and dry seasons. But, since my arrival to Uruguay, the issue of global warming had never been placed so directly before my eyes as it was when I visited Mercedes.

Mercedes is a small city of about 40,000 people, situated in southwest Uruguay on the banks of the Rio Negro. I marked it with a little red circle on this map, and I also highlighted the other districts most affected by flooding with a red square (as well as the nearest dam to Mercedes):



Since arriving in Uruguay, I have made several friends who were born and raised in Mercedes. All of them proudly told me the same thing: "Mercedes has the most beautiful promenade in Uruguay." The normally beautiful area running along the Rio Negro is a source of pride for people from Mercedes, and judging by the pictures I've seen, their pride is justified. Unfortunately, pictures are the only images I have of the promenade, since the area immediately surrounding the river was completely under water when I visited.





The small city experienced the worst flooding it had seen since the 1950s earlier this month, just before I visited. Some distance up the Rio Negro, there is a dam, followed by a large lake located in the center of the country. Heavy rains caused the lake's water levels to rise dramatically. When the floodgates were opened, Mercedes felt the consequences.







When I was in Mercedes, the water had already begun to recede. You can see the former water level where the line along this building is:



These people were in the process of moving their belongings back into their homes after the water had receded:



Just before I left Mercedes, the people there received news that the floodgates would again be opened, and the river's level would rise again. Some of the homes and businesses that were most affected by the flooding are owned by the wealthy citizens of Mercedes, and will gradually be rebuilt. Unfortunately, though, many of the homes belonged to some of the city's poorest. Those individuals will be forced to find ways to support themselves and their families as they find a new home, or rebuild the one they had. For information on some of the relief efforts, please visit the links I included at the start of this post. Uruguayans tend to find great pride in their hometowns, and, as a result, many of the individuals who were forced from their homes by flooding refuse to move anywhere else, and insist on remaining in their home city in spite of any risk posed by natural disasters.

There is a commercial I've seen on Uruguayan television that shows images of recognizable parts of the country submerged in water. The beautiful beaches at Punta del Este are nonexistent, replaced by ocean; the historic, cobblestone streets of Colonia del Sacramento have been devoured by the rising tide; the administrative buildings of Montevideo are visited by individuals in rowboats. The producers of the commercial used computer graphics to achieve the images, but their anti-global warming message is clear. Vast, severe flooding that used to occur once every forty years has already struck Uruguay several times this year. People have noticed the change, and their fear, as well as their surprise, is apparent. Predictable wet seasons and dry seasons no longer exist. Seasonal and climatic cycles have been thrown off, producing erratic weather and the consequences that stem from that. Walking along the streets of Montevideo, one is accompanied by a literal cloud of thirty or more mosquitoes, a phenomenon that the locals swear never occurred this season in previous years.

In spite of the flooding, I thought Mercedes was a beautiful little city. I hope, though, that the promenade will be visible the next time I visit, and that I'll be able to walk along it and experience what many residents of Mercedes are so proud of. But the flooding in Mercedes is just the tip of the iceberg. Last night I was looking at pictures of my trip to Patagonia a couple years ago, and it scared me to realize that the next time I see the Perito Moreno glacier, it may be drastically different. I hope it won't be. But I can't help but wonder what other consequences we and our children will face in the coming years, consequences resulting from a force powerful enough to drown cities, and melt ancient glaciers.