Officials in Buenos Aires have declared a state of emergency during a heatwave where temperatures are averaging 36 degrees Celsius. <br /><br />Power cuts and water shortages are affecting hundreds of families throughout Argentina, causing the hospitalisation of some frailer residents. <br /><br />Three people have reportedly died as a result of the heatwave.<br /><br />Some have been without water or power for up to fourteen days.<br /><br />“Without water it’s unbearable,” one man explained. “You cannot live. Above the tenth floor, within 48 hours, it’s a death trap. If there is sun and 38 or 39 degrees – as they are saying – the firefighters are going to bring down bodies.”<br /><br />Another man called on utility companies and the government to take action.<br /> <br /><br />“It’s a shame, it’s the first thing that comes to mind,” he said. “It’s a shame. The truth is that you shouldn’t play with people. I’m talking about the electricity companies, politicians, everything. I’m very angry.”<br /><br />People are protesting on the streets of Buenos Aires, reportedly angry that the country’s electricity grid has not been upgraded to cope with situations such as this. <br /><br />Argentina’s Planning and Public Services Minister, Julio De Vido, has urged utility companies Edenor and Edesur to take “social responsibility” for restoring the power.<br /><br />“With extraordinary temperatures over the past days, a heatwave beyond comparison, companies have not been up to (Argentina’s) industrial development and growth,” De Vido told reporters. <br /><br />He added that the electricity companies “have to face people,” saying: “Sanctions will aggravate minute by minute if they don’t do what they have to do and that is to assume their role.”<br /><br />The Argentine government has blamed Edenor and Edesur for the outages and threatened to nationalise the firms.
