On the night of January 31, 2018, the province of Salta was hit by torrential rains. The Pilcomayo River reached a level of 7.32 meters, its highest in 45 years, causing catastrophic flooding. The indigenous Wichi, Chorote, Toba, and Tapiete peoples, as well as Creole village communities, were particularly hard hit and in some cases even cut off from the outside world. 17,000 people were evacuated or fled their destroyed homes.