Winds cause destruction and a university student is injured by a falling tree

Strong winds, with gusts of more 80 km/h, which hit the capital of Santa Cruz this Tuesday, left numerous damages in different placesa product of falling trees and gigantographs.

A student was seriously injured when a tree fell on the university modules, while another was assisted, but did not suffer severe blowss.

The incident occurred around 1:00 p.m. in the Plaza de la Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Gabriel René Moreno Autonomous University (Uagrm), where they both study.

The dean of the faculty, Rolando López, reported that one of them had to be underwent emergency surgery, because her spine was compromised. She is being assisted by university insurance.

“The students were in a group, but a branch fell from quite a height and fell on his shoulder and affected his spine. She was immediately helped by an ambulance and we have been supporting the family members,” said the dean.

Likewise, at least a dozen vehicles, in addition to homes, were damaged, according to the report from the Municipal Risk and Emergency Management Directorate, which attended to 70 incidents due to fallen trees, of which 44 were on public roads, 12 in homes and a dozen on vehicles. The CRE attended to 340 cases due to impacts on the electricity supply.

One of the most serious incidents occurred around noon in the Samaria neighborhood, where a leafy tree fell on the home of Santa Callejas Cuéllar, where he lives with his four grandchildren. Two rooms, which serve as bedrooms, were seriously affected, so Cellejas is now asking for the help of the population for the repairs.

“I went out to look for food when my daughter called me to tell me that the tree had fallen on the roof and damaged everything. Fortunately my grandchildren were outside the house,” said the woman. According to Callejas, the tree was in the vacant lot from his neighbor, whom he asked on several occasions to cut it, but she did not do so.either.

​Almost at the same time, neighbors and drivers who were traveling along Cristo Redentor Avenue, between the second and third rings, got a big scare because the winds knocked down a fence. advertising that affected three parked vehicles.

Nicolás De Deseo, owner of one of the affected cars, believes that the accident could have been avoided with maintenance of the advertising structures.
“Thank God no misfortune happened, but companies must review their signs, especially the bases, because water and time affect the welds. It was only material damage, but it could have been worse,” De Deseo commented.

After the fence fell, the Traffic Unit proceeded to temporarily close the road.

In the area of ​​2 de Agosto Avenue and Fifth Ring Road, part of a roof blew off and It fell on two vehicles that were on public roads. “We were at a red light and from one moment to the next we felt the impact,” said one of the drivers who was left with his motorized vehicle with the windshield and side windows damaged.

On Las Américas Avenue, drivers also got a big scare when a tree collapsed and affected a fence and three vehicles. “My son was driving the car and thank God nothing happened, “One more second and I didn’t count it,” said the owner of one of the motorized vehicles.

Similar incidents occurred on radial 26, where a parked car was trapped by a tree; just like in the Lazareto neighborhood, where a tree fell on a truck and damaged a fence.

There were also tree falls on public roads that affected the circulation, as happened in the 27 de Mayo neighborhood, in the Cambódromo area and on La Salle Avenue.

Mary Luz Farfán, director of Municipal Risk and Emergency Management, reported that calls for fallen trees came from different areas of the city, including the Cambódromo, the Braniff neighborhood and areas near Piraí Avenue.
“We have seen fences, homes and vehicles affected. “It has been an arduous task due to the gusts of wind,” he indicated.

He reported that a palm tree fell in a square in District 1, that destroyed a sidewalk, where a person was injured, but there are no further details because they were helped by a private ambulance.

In that sense, he urged citizens to take precautions due to the intensity of the winds, which reach speeds of more than 80 kilometers per hour, with continuous gusts of 54 kilometers per hour.

“We ask the population not to park their vehicles under the trees and check the structures in your homes. In addition, we recommend avoiding going to parks and areas with trees as long as the winds persist,” Farfán emphasized.

The winds in the capital of Santa Cruz accompanied the entry of a slight drop in temperature, which alleviated to the population from the heat wave of recent days. Rainfall is expected in the provinces this Wednesday.