A man died and dozens of people were injured on the afternoon of Monday, 12th, after a meteorological tsunami hit beaches on the coast of Mar Chiquita, in the province of Buenos Aires, in Argentina.
The municipal administration of Mar Chiquita reported, in a statement, that giant waves surprised and swept away bathers and fishermen who were in the water.
According to the newspaper The Nationthe fatal victim is Yair Manno, 29 years old. The Argentine lived in France, but was on vacation in his hometown with his girlfriend. At the time the water level rose, he was in the mouth area of the pond.
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The statement from municipal management mentions 20 injured, with fractures and bruises, mainly on Camet Norte beach. According to the city hall, the risk of the cliffs collapsing with the advance of the sea led dozens of people to try to climb the only two available stairs simultaneously, which led to new accidents.
A swimmer suffered a heart attack while trying to help a family member, but was revived by a lifeguard using an automatic external defibrillator.
“It was an unexpected tragedy. The weather was beautiful, the sea calm, with a temperature of 37ºC. It was not something we could predict”, said the director of the Security Operation on the Beaches of Mar Chiquita, Andrea Lezcano.
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According to the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the meteorological tsunami – or meteotsunami – is characterized by giant waves, driven by disturbances in atmospheric pressure, often associated with fast-moving weather events, such as severe storms and gusts of wind.
“The storm generates a wave that moves towards the coast and is amplified by a shallow continental shelf and by inlets, bays or other coastal formations”, explains the American agency. Waves from meteorological tsunamis can exceed 1.8 meters in height. According to La Nácion, in some areas of Mar Chiquita, the water level rose up to five meters.
Also according to NOAA, the phenomenon differs from traditional tsunamis because it is not triggered by seismic activity and can be confused with a sea undertow or seiche (long-period wave).
