Overview
- The hailstorms that struck Thursday left confirmed livestock deaths, damaged homes and vehicles, and destroyed maize and sunflower fields across central and northern Santa Fe.
- Emergency services reported brief power outages, at least one family evacuated and suspended school sessions as Defensa Civil and local crews cleared roads and inspected damage.
- Damage was highly localized with some fields spared and neighboring plots flattened, making rapid loss estimates difficult and delaying a consolidated compensation tally.
- In Mendoza officials are promoting the Fondo Compensador Agrícola insurance scheme with about 3,000 enrolled producers while local chambers and a legislator press for public funding to restore cloud‑seeding operations.
- Scientists and producers point to an active El Niño and rising storm risk, which is intensifying debate over short‑term cloud‑seeding costs versus longer‑term public insurance and contingency spending.