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Death toll rises to ten from storm in Chile, authorities say
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Disasters & Emergencies

Death toll rises to ten from storm in Chile, authorities say

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Ongoing story
  • The death toll from a severe storm in Chile has risen to ten, according to disaster response authorities.
  • The storm has affected ten of the country's sixteen regions, prompting a state of catastrophe in northern areas.
  • Thousands are displaced, and significant damage has been reported to homes and infrastructure.

The intense storm battering Chile has claimed the lives of ten people, as confirmed by the National Service for Disaster Prevention and Response (Senapred). The severe weather system is impacting ten of the country's sixteen regions, leading President José Antonio Kast to declare a state of catastrophe in the northern Coquimbo region and the province of Huasco in Atacama.

To lament the passing of ten compatriots in the nation, some of whom were serving other compatriots, which has made us have to ask each brigadier, rescuer, to take care of themselves.

— José Antonio KastSpeaking from the affected northern region.

Authorities warn that the death toll could rise, as reports of four additional individuals are being treated as "presumed disappearances." The emergency has resulted in seventeen injuries, the displacement of 2,422 people, and 104,504 individuals isolated, primarily in the Atacama and Coquimbo regions. Road closures and swollen riverbeds have contributed to the widespread disruption.

The Ministry of Health has declared a sanitary alert in the affected regions, where some areas are experiencing a lack of potable water. The Chilean Armed Forces have dispatched the first shipment of six tons of humanitarian aid. President Kast expressed his condolences for the ten deceased compatriots, some of whom were assisting others, and urged rescuers to exercise caution.

The region is literally under mud right now, we still have high-risk situations for people.

— Cristóbal JuliáGovernor of Coquimbo, describing the situation on Monday.

Kast described the meteorological event as "quite unprecedented," noting the combination of wind, rain, snow, and high seas affecting the ten regions in various ways. Senapred has recorded 76 destroyed homes, 2,121 with major damage, and 16,948 with minor damage, with 888 properties still under evaluation. The intensity of the rainfall in Coquimbo, with some areas receiving nearly double the annual average, has led officials to describe the region as "literally under mud" and facing high-risk situations.

The climatic disaster is the greatest in the last forty years in the Coquimbo region.

— Louis de GrangeMinister of Public Works, commenting on the scale of the disaster.
DistantNews Editorial

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

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