Heavy rain in southern Chile are threatening to cause floods in several regions, including Araucanía, Los Ríos, Los Lagos and Aysén.
Heavy rainfall brought by a frontal system stretching across the south of the country has increased levels of rivers in the area, most notably the Río Aysén in Aysén region, and Río Queche in Los Lagos.
ONEMI (Oficina Nacional de Emergencia del Ministerio del Interior y Seguridad Pública) Chile’s disaster management agency, reported that so far 96 people have been evacuated in the districts of La Puntilla, Aguas Muertas and Teniente Merino in Aysen region.
In Los Lagos, 16 people have been injured and 4 homes damaged in the district of Hualaihué after the Río Queche overflowed.
The storm system has left over 6,000 without power.
Rainfall
Figures below according to WMO:
Futaleufú, Los Lagos Region – 94.0 mm in the past 24 hours between 16 and 17 May 2015.
Alto Palena, Los Lagos, 93.7 mm during the same period.
Floods, Earthquakes and Volcanoes
Chile has suffered several natural disasters this year. On 1 Apr 2014, a 8.2-magnitude earthquake occurred in the shallow depths near the Chilean coast, 95 km Northwest of Iquique. A massive wildfire started on 12 Apr 2014 and burned through Chile’s Valparaiso city. Over 800 houses were destroyed and more than 12,000 people were evacuated from their homes. Calbuco volcano, located in the province of Llanquihue, Los Lagos region, erupted on 22 Apr 2015.
The regions on Atacama, Antofagasta and Coquimbo in northern Chile were hit by severe floods on 26 March 2015 after a period of relatively heavy rainfall. At least 26 people died in the floods, with dozens still missing.
In April, Fitch Ratings said that Chile was now facing around $1.5 billion in construction costs and economic reactivation in the flood-hit regions of the north.
