Torrential rains in Chile leave one dead and more than 4,000 affected

Chilean weather services have issued the highest level of warning for six regions.

Heavy rains fell on Thursday, May 13, in central and southern Chile, leaving one dead and more than 4,000 affected, according to the authorities. The victim was killed by a falling tree in Linares, a town in the south of the country. “These rains will continue to fall very hard”warned Chilean President Gabriel Boric.

Chile’s meteorological services have issued an “alarm”, the highest level of warning to the population, for the regions of Coquimbo in the north, Valparaiso and Metropolitana in the center, and O’Higgins, Ñuble and Biobio in the south, due to rain and unusually strong winds. For her part, the Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá, announced the state of “catastrophe” in five of these regions in order to facilitate emergency aid.

In the capital, Santiago, 80 mm of water is expected in just a few hours, as much as the entire usual month of June. These rains come after more than a decade of drought.

The authorities have decreed the total suspension of classes in schools in Santiago and four other regions of the country, and asked the population to limit travel.

In the town of Viña del Mar, 110 km from Santiago, they fear the collapse of a 12-story building with 200 apartments, in the Reñaca sector. Rain over the weekend caused a sinkhole 15 meters wide and 30 meters deep under the building.