Santiago: Heavy rain killed one person and damaged hundreds of homes in southern and central Chile on Thursday, prompting authorities to declare a state of emergency in five regions of the South American country.
In the southern city of Linares, one person died when a street light collapsed after hours of rain and strong winds, disaster agency Senapred said.
“The worst of this frontline system is behind us, but we cannot let it catch us,” Interior Minister Carolina Toha said in her latest official report.
Earlier, Chile’s weather agency issued its highest warning, covering about 14 million of the 20 million people living in 6 of the country’s 16 regions, but it was canceled.
Before the flood, central Chile has been battling a severe drought for 15 years.
“We need boats to get people out,” Curanilahue, a resident of one of the affected towns, said on national television.
Curanilahue, about 600 km (372 miles) south of the capital Santiago, was hit hard as the Curanilahue and Las Ranas rivers overflowed after receiving 350 millimeters (13.7 inches) of rain in a few hours. as a whole.
About 2,000 houses in the area were damaged.
President Jibril Borich, in a letter from Sweden, where he is on an official visit, announced the first death toll, warning that the rain would “continue to be very heavy”.
Before boarding a plane to visit the affected areas, Toha said a state of “disaster” has been declared in five areas to speed up the deployment of resources.
Senapred said the rain affected about 4,300 people, up from an initial estimate of 4,300.
In Santiago, which also experienced heavy rain, schools were closed for the day and authorities urged people to limit their movements.
In Viña del Mar, experts are working to save a 12-story apartment building in danger of collapsing after rain caused a huge gap.
The weather service said the country’s cold front was accompanied by an “atmospheric river” – a mass of air carrying large amounts of moisture.
