MONTEVIDEO, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- A rainstorm with heavy winds Sunday ravaged Uruguay, not least the southwest department of Colonia, said officials, confirming two deaths from the disaster, including a child.
Winds blew in gusts at the speed of 99.4 mph (160 kph) in the departmental capital, Colonia del Sacramento, said the Uruguayan Institute of Meteorology in a report.
The "very strong storms" occurred in the early morning and caused "the regrettable death of two people" and "fallen trees and power lines, blowing off light roofs, among others," it said.
The 8-year-old victim died at a campsite when a tree fell on the cabin where he was staying, and the other death occurred in the same department after a tree fell and hit two motorcycles on the road, causing the death of one of the drivers, local media reported.
Some 125,000 homes were left without electricity in the morning due to the damage to the electrical infrastructure, a figure which by midday fell to 65,000, according to UTE, the state-owned power company. ■
