One person died, more than 4,000 victims and thousands of homes with various damages have left the storm of heavy rain and wind that shakes central and southern Chile this week, prompting the government to expand a disaster zone decree on Thursday.
The victim – an agricultural worker who was crushed to death by a public lighting pole, according to the first investigations – was registered in the southern region of Maule, neighboring the regions of Ñuble, Biobío and La Araucanía, the most affected by the front where there are towns. flooded, overflowing rivers and closed roads, among other effects in that area of strong forestry and agricultural activity.
The most recent report from the Senapred disaster office also reported more than a hundred people evacuated from three buildings in a coastal area of the city of Viña del Mar, where the rain has caused sinkholes in the ground due to the collapse of sewer collectors. rainwater
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The government had already declared a disaster zone in the Biobío region and on Wednesday afternoon announced the suspension of classes for two days in several regions of Chile, including the populous metropolitan areas of Santiago and Valparaíso as the storm reached central zone.
The Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá, said Thursday morning that the disaster zone expanded to an area of about 800 kilometers between the regions of Coquimbo, in the north-central part of the country, to Ñuble.
The measure “will allow us to further facilitate all administrative processes for making purchases, contracting, to have certain types of instructions and to be able to face what awaits us during the day,” he said.
In the capital Santiago, where some six million inhabitants live, there were more than 24,000 customers without electricity and several sectors of the city were flooded.
Chile, the largest global copper producer, concentrates its copper activity in the extreme north of the country but has some mines in the central area, where authorities have also warned about the high possibility of landslides.
Codelco, the world’s largest producer of the metal with the Andina and Teniente mines in the central and mountain areas, said late Wednesday afternoon that “for now, operations remain normal, and a Contingency Plan is being developed for the rain forecast.”
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