by “There are parts of the city that seem to be having an extended autumnIn others it is like nothing has happened“, describes a spokesperson for the commune about the two faces that were exposed in miramar after the havoc caused by the violent storm on Tuesday and which left two fatalities.
One of those faces looks restored, you can see it for example when looking out to the coast, with the lines of re-assembled tents, parasols deployed and a sun that enlivens the beach, “as if nothing had happened.” The other, from the center to the westHe is still in the recovery process.
The “extended autumn” that the official speaks of is because of the streets that three days later continue with a tapestry of leaves that the wind tore from the trees, only they are green that identifies them with summer. “Coming from the west, you find that on each block throw a tree“says Francisco Palmares, manager of the bus terminal that suffered the consequences of the gusts of wind and I lost part of the roof of the docks..
Therefore, since the activity was resumed, The buses operate on 40th Avenue. Passengers board and disembark buses on the sidewalk of the terminal. The dock is closed until the report of the architect hired by the concessionaire is known, inspected by the insurance company and there are no risks.
This Friday, a group of workers with two cranes were dedicated to clearing the structure that was left visible after the wind fixed four ceiling panels 9 by 11 meters each. The sheets are twisted at one end of the beach as if they were made of paper next to two concrete columns that the wind tore from the base, leaving each of the irons of the structure exposed, something that is flimsy at a glance.
The season is going in Miramar just like in many towns on the Atlantic Coast, with ups and downs, short-term tourism that comes strongly on weekends. The merchants assure that tourists like never before They calculate each price before spending a peso. A difficult season that for many ended early.
To the stallholders of the microentrepreneur fair who worked for 22 years under a tent installed from December to March at the intersection of 23rd and 26th avenues, downtown, the storm took everything away from them. The structure of the tent, which was about 70 meters long, was left unusable, only some tarps were recovered. “It was our capital (for the tent), we had bought it as an association,” says a trader.
The wind tore it from the ground and lifted it completely, it remained almost vertical on a row of plane trees, trees that were cut off. “She was ours and I don’t want to think how much she’s worth, a few million pesos that we don’t have“says Alejandro Rodríguez, one of the micro-entrepreneurs who is trying to regroup in some way so as not to lose the remainder of the season.
Despite the losses, which for some of them were totals, Rodríguez says that luck was on his side. “A misfortune because it affected us all, but it could have been a tragedy if the storm occurred just an hour later,” he explains. They open at six in the afternoon; The storm occurred a few minutes after five.
“There are 45 of us, plus the people who could be walking at that moment, it would have been tragic“, he evaluates: “We are putting together a project to continue, we hope that the Municipality will support us. Meanwhile, to work. “We never give in.”
Unfortunately, Tuesday’s storm left two fatalities. A 17-year-old boy, Benjamín Carmona, who shortly after arriving home on his bicycle was hit in the head by a tree branch, and Mónica García, 65 years old (it had been incorrectly reported that she was 84), also hit by a segment detached from a tree.
There were a few minor injuries, all of them out of danger, and who will suffer the consequences of the fury of the storm, which lasted seven minutes.
“That same night, when I went to bed, I had the blows in my head, I heard people’s screams,” says Javier Aseguín, manager of La Chocolatta, a traditional confectionery in Miramar. It has three branches, the one on Fortunato de la Plaza avenue at 1800 had to close. wind broke out the window, tore off the entire roof and took it about a hundred meters from the place. At that time, there were about 25 people in the place, including employees and customers.
“First the front windows exploded, and there was a commotion, with screams, there were kids at a table. Then the roof blew off. The first thing I did was get everyone out and put them under shelter in the kitchen, which has a higher roof. .low, cut the thermal and we wait there. It wasn’t a moment, it lasted a long time.“recalls Aseguín, who a decade ago changed the daily hustle and bustle of life in Lanús, in Greater Buenos Aires, for the placidity of Miramar.
The coast, in the central area where the storm hits, looks restoredsomething surprising after the images that went viral with tents torn from the sand and waved by the wind as if they were garlands.
“The boys worked all night to to be able to rearm the tents – they said from the administration of the Ocean Miramar spa, on 11th and Costanera streets. We had lost 40 of the 100 tents we have. The next day we relocated the clients, today everything is set up again.”
Miramar. Special delivery
