Chile Declares Emergency After Heavy Rains

SANTIAGO, Aug 19 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast on Tuesday declared a state of emergency due to catastrophe in the province of Tocopilla, in the northern Antofagasta region, after heavy rains caused widespread damage, reported Xinhua.

“Due to the severe damage caused by the storm in Tocopilla, I have decided to declare a constitutional state of emergency due to catastrophe for the province of Tocopilla and make available all human and material resources needed to face this emergency,” Kast said on the social media platform X.

Heavy rains in Chile's desert north have triggered runoff of rainwater, mud and rocks from hillsides, mudslides, evacuations, material damage and affected families.

Tocopilla Mayor Ljubica Kurtovic told local media that the city's geography, surrounded by ravines, had made response work difficult.

“We are in the middle of a tragedy, a dramatic and very frightening moment, with ravines activated, and Tocopilla is a chain of ravines,” Kurtovic said.

She added that the rainfall had exceeded expectations and that mitigation measures had been insufficient.

The National Disaster Prevention and Response Service declared a red alert and called on some areas to evacuate preventively.

The Education Ministry ordered the suspension of classes in schools in the regions of Arica and Parinacota, Tarapaca and Atacama, as well as in the communes of Antofagasta, Mejillones, Tocopilla, Taltal and Sierra Gorda in the Antofagasta region.

The Health Ministry said five health facilities were not operational and that their patients had been transferred to other hospitals.

-- BERNAMA-XINHUA