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🇨🇱 Chile /Energy & Infrastructure

Coquimbo Academic: 'Invest in Resilient Infrastructure Now'

From Cooperativa · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • The Coquimbo Region in Chile is experiencing a severe meteorological crisis with historically high damage.
  • An expert explains that the region's soil has low infiltration capacity, causing surface runoff during heavy rainfall.
  • The academic urges investment in resilient infrastructure to prevent repeated reconstruction efforts following disasters.

The Coquimbo Region in Chile is grappling with one of the most severe meteorological crises in decades, leaving a trail of damage that defies historical statistics. Jaime Cuevas, a researcher at the Center for Advanced Studies in Arid Zones (Ceaza), explained that the disaster's severity is not solely due to the amount of rainfall but also the physical nature of the territory, which is ill-equipped to handle such volumes in a short period.

The soils in this region have a low capacity for precipitation infiltration compared to those much further south. This means they can 'accept' a certain amount of rain, perhaps the first 50 to 100 millimeters, but after that, the water cannot continue to infiltrate and begins to move across the surface, dragging soil particles and generating surface flows known as runoff.

— Jaime CuevasExplaining the geological factors contributing to the disaster in the Coquimbo Region.

"The soils in this region have a low capacity for precipitation infiltration compared to those much further south," Cuevas stated in an interview. "This means they can 'accept' a certain amount of rain, perhaps the first 50 to 100 millimeters, but after that, the water cannot continue to infiltrate and begins to move across the surface, dragging soil particles and generating surface flows known as runoff."

Cuevas pointed out that the recurrence of these tragedies in the same geographical locations indicates a persistent lack of preparedness. "This has happened to us many times, and it's always in the same places." He warned that climate change is predicted to bring more concentrated and intense weather events.

This has happened to us many times, and it's always in the same places.

— Jaime CuevasHighlighting the recurring nature of such disasters in the region.

Given this reality, Cuevas emphasized the urgent need for investment. "What we should do is invest once and for all in very resilient infrastructure that prevents us from having to rebuild time and time again," he concluded, advocating for a proactive approach to disaster management.

What we should do is invest once and for all in very resilient infrastructure that prevents us from having to rebuild time and time again.

— Jaime CuevasUrging for investment in resilient infrastructure to mitigate future disaster impacts.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Cooperativa in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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