“I want to arrive early with weather events. I want people to know what the risks are. We have to change the paradigm.” The quote is from Rafael Di Marco, a Cordoba native of Jesús María, who since 2019 has been serving in the Hydrometeorological Observatory from the city of Cordoba.
“Rafa”, as his friends know him, was always an amateur in the field, but a family tragedy made his life turn 180 degrees and he began to study at the University.
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On the weekend of February 15, 2015, his daughter Mariana (22) went camping with a group of friends in Ascochinga, a town located in the department of Colón.
To this day, the man remembers the question that the girl asked him on Friday the 13th and Saturday the 14th: “Pa, how is the weather going?”
The prognosis for those days was normal. The National Meteorological Service (SMN) only marked “possible drizzle”, but did not warn of other contingencies. However, something went wrong and a voracious flood broke out with fury at dawn on Sunday, February 15 and destroyed everything in its path.
Rivers and streams that until then had been calm brought out all their natural fury in the Sierras Chicas. Eight people lost their lives. Among them was Mariana, the daughter of “Rafa”. The young woman was in the second year of her Architecture degree at the National University of Córdoba (UNC).
“As a dad, pain is present to me every day. Today I go through it in a different way”, says Rafael, in an interview with The voicefrom the Observatory campus.
And he adds: “With Mariana’s death I began to see a lot of information deficit. Everything failed. The storm formed in the province of La Pampa, it had a displacement of 12 hours until it reached Córdoba and nobody detected or saw what it had to do with”.
Mariana’s body was found five days later by a firefighter from Jesús María and a dog. “Because of what happened to us as a family, or to me as a parent, I don’t want other people to have to go through the same thing,” she describes.
Turn pain into action
As cruel as it sounds, Di Marco knew he had to do something for the community as they searched for his daughter’s remains in the river. “There were a lot of empty holes in the gear. There was no one to give me the information that as a parent I requested, ”he recalls.
“There was no information in the weather report. Nor are there early warnings from the SMN, as there are now. Eight years after the tragedy, now the system is a little more oiled”, explains the meteorologist. And he continues: “Doing prevention is key. See the behavior of the rivers to be able to warn in a timely manner and the consequences that this may have”.
Forecast: rigorous work 365 days a year
In addition to his work at the Observatory, Di Marco is a private consultant. He understands that in order to do rigorous and conscious work on the matter, you have to be informed 365 days a year. Regularly, you can read it through his Twitter account @dimarcorafael sharing quality information.
Asked about how we are today on the subject, in relation to the Sierras Chicas tragedy, he explains that there is progress but there is still a long way to go.
“As Mariana’s father, I tell you that we are beginning to do things accordingly,” he says. And he adds: “Participation is essential for things to go well. I want to arrive early with the forecasts. I want people to know what the risks are. That paradigm has to be changed.”
In addition to the forecasts, Di Marco stresses that the corresponding works must be carried out to avoid catastrophes.
“Argentines are excellent at arriving late. I want every person to know the risks. Someone anticipate the potential consequences. My daughter did not go out without checking and yet everything failed ”, concludes the meteorologist.
How to help us find everyday heroes and heroines
From The voicewe have proposed to reflect simple Cordovan stories, of generous souls that with small daily gestures make a difference.
Every week, you will find a note that could be from your family, a friend, a neighbor, someone from your school, from your neighborhood. If you think that with what he does he is your “everyday hero or heroine”, you can tell us and contact us by private message on our networks at Facebook, Instagram o Twitter.
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