Large hailstones damage buildings and cars in Paraguay's capital
A powerful storm hit Asunción and surrounding areas on Saturday 3 October, with large hail breaking windows and denting cars. Metro reports injuries, power cuts and wind gusts of about 60mph.
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The story, neutrally told
Left · 1Large hailstones pounded parts of Paraguay's capital, breaking windows and denting cars, as heavy rain and strong winds swept across the country. Al JazeeraLC “Large hailstones pounded parts of Paraguay’s capital, breaking windows and denting cars, as heavy rain and strong winds swept across the country.” Read at Al Jazeera ↗ Left · 1According to Metro, the storm hit Asunción and surrounding areas on Saturday, and videos of the hail went viral online. MetroLC “A powerful storm hit the Paraguayan capital Asuncion and surrounding areas on Saturday, with videos of the massive hail going viral online.” Read at Metro ↗ Left · 1Metro described the hailstones as the size of tennis balls, and said people photographed them next to tennis balls to show their size. MetroLC “One person placed them against an identically-sized tennis ball to show how big they had been.” Read at Metro ↗
Left · 1Metro reported that houses and cars were widely damaged, with windscreens smashed, and that thousands of people were left without electricity. MetroLC “The storm caused widespread damage to houses and cars, with their windscreens smashed, and thousands were left without electricity.” Read at Metro ↗ Left · 1Drivers sheltered in petrol stations to protect their vehicles, and football matches were temporarily suspended. MetroLC “drivers were forced to shelter in petrol stations to minimise the damage to their vehicles and football matches were temporarily suspended.” Read at Metro ↗ Left · 1Local reports cited by Metro put wind gusts at around 60mph, and some said the hail sounded like 'gunshots'. MetroLC “Local reports said wind gusts had reached around 60mph” Read at Metro ↗
Left · 1Metro said commuters and animals were injured, and cited a viral video in which a dog was struck on the head by a hailstone while out on a walk. MetroLC “The freak storm injured commuters and animals (Picture: X)”“his four-legged companion was struck on the head by one of the giant hailstones.” Read at Metro ↗ Left · 1Metro linked the storm to warnings from climate scientists that this year's El Niño could be the worst on record, and cited a report predicting up to 451,000 more heat-related deaths between June and the end of February; it did not say the storm was caused by El Niño. MetroLC “saying it will be the worst in recorded history.”“A recent report predicted as many as 451,000 more heat-related deaths between June this year and the end of February next year.” Read at Metro ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left2 outlets
- Framing
- Al Jazeera ran a short video-led report on the damage; Metro told it as a viral 'freak storm' story with social-media videos and eyewitness quotes, then tied it to El Niño warnings.
- Emphasis
- Visible damage to windows and cars; Metro adds the tennis-ball comparison, injuries, power cuts and the dog video.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Neither gives official figures for casualties or damage costs, or a statement from Paraguayan authorities or meteorologists. Metro's El Niño link is not backed by a stated cause for this storm.
- Charged language
- “freak storm”“tennis balls”“gunshots”
- For example
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“Large hailstones pounded parts of Paraguay’s capital, breaking windows and denting cars” — Al Jazeera
“Commuters in Paraguay rushed for cover this weekend after hailstones the size of” — Metro
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- A hailstorm hit Paraguay's capital, Asunción.
- The hail damaged cars and broke windows.
Middle East1 outlet
Al Jazeera gives a short news-feed report on damage from hail, rain and wind.
“as heavy rain and strong winds swept across the country.” — Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
UK and Ireland1 outlet
Metro presents a human-interest, viral-video story and connects it to El Niño warnings.
“The freak weather phenomenon occurred after climate scientists put out a warning about this year’s El Niño” — Metro
Metro
Left2 articles
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Widespread damage after huge hailstones pound Paraguay capital
Neutral Brief, factual video report on damage from hail, rain and wind in the capital.
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MetroLC ·
Hailstones ‘the size of tennis balls’ leave holes in cars after massive storm
Mixed Colourful viral-video account of the storm with eyewitness quotes, ending with a link to El Niño and heat-death warnings.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 4 Oct 06:14 First Al JazeeraLC Widespread damage after huge hailstones pound Paraguay capital
- 5 Oct 10:53 +28h 39m MetroLC Hailstones ‘the size of tennis balls’ leave holes in cars after massive storm
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.