A day after a tornado hit the farmland of central Chile, officials are still counting damaged homes, and a new storm warning is already out.
Families in Requínoa, a farming town in central Chile, spent Tuesday looking up at roofs that the wind had opened the night before. As we first reported on Monday evening, a tornado struck about 5:30 p.m. local time between Requínoa and neighbouring Rengo, south of Santiago.
The area is part of O’Higgins Region, wine and farm country that many US travellers know, and the count has since grown well beyond the 20 homes in our first report. Senapred, Chile’s national disaster agency, now lists more damaged homes, an emergency phone service is running, and another storm warning is out.
Key Facts
- Count. Senapred, Chile’s disaster agency, counts 13 homes with major damage, 119 minor and 145 under evaluation nationwide. No deaths.
- Storm. The tornado hit Requínoa and Rengo at 5:30 p.m. Monday, rated EF-2, a mid-scale tornado grade, with winds up to 135 mph.
- Help. Telecoms regulator Subtel activated free emergency roaming in Requínoa. More thunderstorms are possible on Wednesday and Thursday.
- Status. As of 27 October 2026, 20:00 GMT
What We Know
The Dirección Meteorológica de Chile (DMC), the national weather service, rated the tornado preliminarily EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita scale. It put the winds at 179 to 218 km/h (111 to 135 mph).
Senapred stands for Servicio Nacional de Prevención y Respuesta ante Desastres, Chile’s national disaster agency. At 05:30 local time on Tuesday it reported one older adult injured in Requínoa, with 85 homes under evaluation and one school damaged.
In Rengo, a neighbouring commune (Chile’s word for a municipality), 49 homes had damage awaiting assessment. Senapred’s overnight nationwide tally for storms and the tornado listed 233 homes affected, of which 79 had minor damage, 1 major damage and 153 awaited assessment.
The count then rose as assessments continued. Senapred’s later balance on Tuesday evening, covering storms and the tornado nationwide, lists 13 homes with major damage, 119 with minor damage and 145 under evaluation.
The same balance shows 3 people displaced, 9 in shelters and 1 injured, with no deaths reported. Five schools were damaged in the Maule and O’Higgins regions.
In Requínoa, 28 medium- and low-voltage power poles were damaged. Senapred’s report listed 3,610 customers without electricity nationwide at 05:45 on Tuesday, 717 of them in O’Higgins.
Schools were closed in Requínoa, in one Maule commune and around parts of Las Condes and Lo Barnechea in Santiago. Our earlier report on flooding that shut schools in Las Condes, a Santiago district, covers that side.
Senapred maintains a red alert for Requínoa and 10 communes of the Santiago Metropolitan Region. The Santiago alert is for landslide risk and covers San José de Maipo, Puente Alto, Pirque, La Florida, Peñalolén, La Reina, Las Condes, Lo Barnechea, Vitacura and Colina.
Subtel (Subsecretaría de Telecomunicaciones), the telecoms regulator, activated free Emergency Roaming in Requínoa. Phones can then connect to another carrier’s network when their own network is down.
A mobile unit can cover a radius of up to 2 km (1.2 miles) and connect up to 1,000 devices, with up to three days of power autonomy. Users should enable automatic network selection and roaming in their phone settings.
Alicia Cebrián, director of Senapred, said a new weather advisory points to possible thunderstorms on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 October between the Coquimbo and Maule regions.
What Is Not Known
Authorities have not published a cause for the tornado. The final number of damaged homes is also unknown, because assessments continue.
No deaths have been reported, but no repair cost has been published. Senapred has not said when power will be fully restored.
The EF-2 rating is preliminary, and it is not known whether the weather service will revise it. We make no claim about how this tornado compares with earlier ones.
What It Means for Travelers and US Readers
Requínoa and Rengo lie in the O’Higgins Region of central Chile, a wine and farm area. Travellers with plans there should follow Senapred updates, since schools and power supply were affected.
Readers who know the EF scale should treat the rating as an early call by the weather service. The reported wind range is 111 to 135 mph.
Families with relatives in Requínoa can note that Emergency Roaming lets phones switch to another carrier’s network. The regulator advises enabling automatic network selection and roaming in phone settings.
Thunderstorms are possible on Wednesday and Thursday between the Coquimbo and Maule regions. Anyone with plans in that stretch should watch official updates from Senapred and the weather service.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened in Requínoa?
A tornado struck between Requínoa and Rengo at about 5:30 p.m. on Monday 26 October 2026. The weather service rated it preliminarily EF-2, with winds of 179 to 218 km/h (111 to 135 mph).
How many homes were damaged?
Senapred’s Tuesday evening balance for storms and the tornado nationwide lists 13 homes with major damage, 119 with minor damage and 145 under evaluation. One person was injured and no deaths were reported.
What is Emergency Roaming?
It is a free service activated in Requínoa by Subtel, Chile’s telecoms regulator. Phones can use another carrier’s network when their own is down, so users should enable automatic network selection and roaming.
Is more bad weather expected?
A new advisory points to possible thunderstorms on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 October between the Coquimbo and Maule regions.
Sources
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief