Chile declares catastrophe in the northern zone, where the storm leaves four missing

Santiago, Chile.- The President of Chile, José Antonio Kast, declared a state of catastrophe this Monday in the northern zone due to the devastation caused by the severe storm that has been hitting the vast majority of the country since last week, leaving five people dead and at least four missing.

“Due to the intense rains of the last few hours and the increasing complexity of basic service operations, I have instructed to declare a constitutional state of catastrophe due to public calamity in the entire Coquimbo region and in the Huasco province in Atacama,” the president stated on his X account.

“All material and economic resources are available to face this emergency,” stressed the far-right leader.

The state of catastrophe allows the president to take immediate control of the affected area, restrict civil liberties, and mobilize public and private resources to address an emergency.

The most affected regions

In its latest report, the National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred) informed this Monday that in the last few hours at least four people are missing in the Coquimbo and Atacama regions, both under red alert and located 460 kilometers and 850 kilometers north of the capital, respectively.

The institution indicated that there are also nearly 100,000 people isolated in different locations in the north due to the rising of rivers and streams, and there are also nearly 16,000 homes damaged throughout the country.

The storm, related to the El Niño phenomenon, began on Thursday in the south-central zone and has been moving northward in the last few hours.

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The central system, which affects 10 of the country’s 16 regions, is leaving in its wake flooded streets, power and water outages, intense storm surges, grounded vessels, river flooding, and strong wind gusts of up to 160 kilometers per hour in some areas, which have knocked down power lines and trees.

According to the Meteorological Directorate of Chile (DMC), the storm is one of the most significant meteorological episodes recorded in recent years due to its geographical extent and intensity.