The city, located in the south of Buenos Aires province and home to one of the country's largest ports, saw a year's worth of rain in a matter of hours on Friday, with numerous neighborhoods and roads quickly inundated.

Mayor Federico Susbielles said in a press conference Sunday that the flooding had caused $400 million in infrastructure damage.

Later, in a post on X, he said "there are 16 confirmed deaths, but there are likely to be more" as search efforts continue.

Meanwhile the disappearance of the two sisters, aged one and five, has shaken the nation, with authorities on Sunday confirming details of the tragedy.

Provincial security minister Javier Alonso told local media that the girls were on the roof of a van with their mother when a wave of water ripped them away.

Divers were continuing to search the area, where more than a meter of water remained, he told the Radio Mitre outlet.

The storm left much of the surrounding coastal area without power. At one point, city officials in Bahia Blanco suspended electricity due to the huge amount of water in the streets.

The government has authorized emergency reconstruction aid of 10 billion pesos ($9.2 million at the official exchange rate).

Bahia Blanca has suffered past weather-related disasters, including a storm in December 2023 that claimed 13 lives. It caused houses to collapse and provoked widespread infrastructure damage.