Ammon News - At least ten people were killed and more than a thousand evacuated in the Argentine port city of Bahia Blanca on Friday as torrential rains flooded homes and hospitals, destroyed roads and forced officials to cut power.

Eight hours of nonstop rain left the city of 350,000 people largely underwater, and forced authorities to evacuate the Jose Penna hospital.

Television images showed medical personnel evacuating babies from the hospital's neonatal unit, and the army was deployed to assist in rescue efforts.

Some 1,321 people were evacuated to safety in the city, which is about 600 kilometers (about 375 miles) south of the capital Buenos Aires, according to Mayor Federico Susbielles' office. The national government authorised emergency aid of 10 billion pesos (about 9.2 million dollars).

The city received more than 400 millimeters (15 inches) of rain in just hours equivalent to what it normally gets in a year, "something unprecedented," according to Javier Alonso, security minister for Buenos Aires province. AFP