BUENOS AIRES - A wind and rain storm that shook the Buenos Aires area, killing 17 people, was the worst in 100 years, government officials said Monday. “Seventeen people died,” Planning Minister Julio de Vido said at a news conference giving the toll of last week’s storm. “I’m not a meteorologist but I’m not blind either. What happened Wednesday was a tornado.” Wind, rain and hail damaged houses and businesses, toppled thousands of trees and electric power poles, tumbled walls and blew down billboards. The National Meteorological Service recorded winds of between 90 and 130 kilometers (55 and 80 miles per hour).
“There are no records of a storm of that magnitude in the past 100 years,” said Security Secretary Sergio Berni.
De Vido said 30,000 housing units in the urban belts west and south of the city were still without power Monday.