CIUDAD DEL ESTE, Paraguay — An intensifying storm season linked to the El Niño weather pattern — a periodic warming of Pacific Ocean surface waters that can shift rainfall and storm tracks across the globe — brought flooding to Paraguay this week, killed two farm workers in Argentina's cattle belt and damaged coastal communities in Peru and Mexico.

On Wednesday, part of a luxury condominium complex collapsed on Mexico's Pacific coast in the tourist town of San Pancho, in Nayarit state, after pounding surf washed away the sand beneath it, exposing the foundation and leaving the structure tilted dramatically toward the sea.

In Paraguay, two dozen families took refuge late Wednesday at a church near the border with Brazil after floodwaters inundated their homes, while other residents anxiously monitored the swelling Parana, South America's second-largest river and a commercial shipping route for grain and other freight moving between Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina.

United Nations officials warned this week that El Niño could drive a record increase in Pacific Ocean temperatures as it moves around the globe like a "wrecking ball," triggering floods in some regions and droughts in others. The World Meteorological Organization has forecast that central Pacific temperatures will rise about 3.8 degrees Celsius above average between November and January, peaking around December — setting the stage for one of the most turbulent storm seasons on record. The forecast window runs through January, meaning the flooding and storm damage reported this week is unfolding before the pattern reaches its projected peak.

In Paraguay, the rising Parana River, a key commercial waterway, has affected about 4,200 families, according to the country's national emergency agency. A 58-year-old woman died after her home collapsed in the rains.

At the church in Ciudad del Este now doubling as a shelter, dozens of residents pitched tents on a soccer field, while others organized communal kitchens with support from the church and local businesses. In the riverside town of San Rafael, 65-year-old Antonina Sánchez recounted fleeing as the water rose.

"I was surprised because the water came very quickly. My house, my entire kitchen collapsed; it's caving in," she said.

In Argentina, two farm workers died near Bella Vista in Corrientes province while moving cattle away from flooded areas near the Parana, local media reported. Hundreds of residents have been evacuated across the province, although above-average rainfall in parts of the Pampas agricultural belt could benefit crops.

In Chile's capital Santiago, a flooded stream triggered a mudslide onto city streets on October 8, and days later a storm blanketed roads with hail and flooded streets.

In Peru, authorities announced financial aid and tax relief on Thursday for businesses affected by the extreme weather battering the country's Pacific coast — El Niño episodes typically bring unusually heavy rainfall to Peru's normally arid shoreline. The government plans to allocate 18 billion soles ($5.22 billion) in 2027 toward mitigating the economic impact.

— Reuters