RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The weather front that hit Chile on Sunday, January 31st, has caused flooding, landslides, power outages and other issues that have affected more than 1,000 people, the National Emergency Office (Onemi) reported.
The agency said that the weather system currently stretches from the region of Coquimbo to the north to Los Lagos in the south.
Luis Salazar, a meteorologist at the National Center for Analysis at the Meteorological Directorate of Chile, told local press that the weather system has caused the most intense rains in the Santiago Metropolitan Region for the month of January in 150 years.
About 1,353 people have been isolated due to the storm in the Alto Biobio community in the southern region of Biobio after a landslide caused a road closure, while in the Collipulli community in the region of Araucania, about 40 houses have been damaged.
“Turbidity in the Maipo River (in the capital of Santiago) is high, so if that continues, during the day today, the situation of the water supply will need to be evaluated,” said Interior Minister Rodrigo Delgado.
Chilean Minister of Public Works Alfredo Moreno said that the water supply in the Chilean capital was using reserves and could need to be rationed if the weather system continues.