IN IMAGES, IN PICTURES. In Chile, fires kill at least 19 people and devastate more than 40,000 hectares

A “unprecedented disaster”, according to the mayor of Viña del Mar, Macarena Ripamonti. In Chile, at least 19 people were killed in fires which ravaged nearly 43,000 hectares, particularly in the tourist region of Valparaiso, plagued by scorching temperatures. “The Valparaiso region has never experienced a situation of this magnitude”whispered Macarena Ripamonti, whose city is particularly affected.

On the hills of the famous seaside resort, the streets are littered with hundreds of charred cars. Thousands of people found their homes destroyed on Saturday. Images that have gone viral show mountains engulfed in flames at the end of the famous “route 68”, a road used by thousands of tourists towards the beaches of the Pacific.

Firefighters have been fighting tirelessly since Friday against dozens of homes in the regions of Valparaiso and O’Higgins, but also Maule, Biobio, La Araucania and Los Lagos, in the south. At midday on Saturday, 92 fires were still active, including 40 under control. Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of emergency in order to “have all the necessary means” faced with the progression of the flames. Since Wednesday, the temperature has been close to 40 degrees in central Chile. This heatwave, resulting from the El Niño climatic phenomenon, causes forest fires worsened by global warming.