MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile declares state of catastrophe in the north after storm leaves at least ten dead

The weather front began on July 15 in the south of the country and moved north, where it hit the desert regions — areas where rainfall of this magnitude is uncommon

Chile's president, José Antonio Kast, declared on Monday a 30-day constitutional state of catastrophe in the Coquimbo region and the Huasco province, in the Atacama region, in response to the intense storm battering the country's north. According to the government's latest tally, the phenomenon has left at least ten people dead nationwide, four missing, and nearly 100,000 residents cut off by road closures. Authorities warned the toll could rise, as numerous areas remain unreachable.

“As the situation in the Coquimbo region and the Huasco province has grown more serious,” Kast said in announcing the measure, which allows the deployment of military personnel, restrictions on movement when necessary, and faster delivery of resources and assistance. The government mobilized the army for rescue operations.

The weather front began on July 15 in the south of the country and moved north, where it hit the desert regions of Coquimbo and Atacama with particular intensity — areas where rainfall of this magnitude is uncommon. Swollen rivers blocked the main access routes and left many towns isolated from one another. In Coquimbo, about 460 kilometers north of Santiago, flooding, mudslides, and power cuts also affected the drinking-water supply. In the town of Andacollo, more than 300 millimeters of rain fell in a single night.

The National Service for Disaster Prevention and Response (Senapred) recorded more than 1,100 homes destroyed or seriously damaged and about 2,200 people affected, along with more than 33,000 isolated in Atacama and Coquimbo. The Energy Ministry said around 150,000 people were without electricity. Classes were suspended in several regions.

“What normally falls in a month fell in an hour, which leads us to classify this event as abnormal and extreme rainfall,” said Deputy Interior Minister Máximo Pavez. Arnaldo Zúñiga, of Chile's Meteorological Directorate, said the country had not seen an episode of this kind in about two decades.

The storm comes during a season of extreme events in the region. In recent weeks, a double earthquake in Venezuela left thousands of casualties, and various parts of the Southern Cone have faced severe storms. Chilean authorities expect the rains to continue through the week, and are maintaining alerts and precautionary restrictions at dozens of ports, also affected by high seas and wind gusts of more than 100 kilometers per hour.