Un aluvión arrastra autos y un autobús en Santiago tras el octubre más lluvioso registrado
Un aluvión de agua, barro y piedras arrastró automóviles y un autobús del transporte público el jueves en San Carlos de Apoquindo, en la comuna de Las Condes, al pie de la cordillera en el oriente de Santiago de Chile, tras una semana de lluvias récord. El balance oficial es de seis heridos, sin fallecidos ni desaparecidos, y el presidente José Antonio Kast decretó zona de catástrofe en la comuna.
In Santiago, a river of mud, debris and stones swept through cars and a public bus on Thursday in San Carlos de Apoquindo, in the Las Condes commune at the base of the Andes mountain range, following a week of record-breaking rains. The official tally shows six injuries, with no fatalities or missing persons, and President José Antonio Kast declared a disaster zone in the commune.
Among the injured was a one-year-old child who fractured a leg, according to the presidential delegate for the Metropolitan Region, Germán Codina. Over 1,000 people were rescued or aided, and about 200 hectares were affected. Las Condes' mayor, Catalina San Martín, estimated that 2,000 homes suffered some damage, with 55 homes in serious need of habitability.
Water and mud also entered two clinics and the campus of the University of the Andes. Authorities offered differing explanations for the cause. Carabineros initially blamed the overflow of a canal, while the National Service for Disaster Prevention and Response pointed to the activation of dry mountain streams and canals. Codina later attributed the emergency to the blockage of an underground canal that drains a ravine.
The emergency response service explained that they did not issue an evacuation alert to mobile phones because it was "a sudden event," and assured that their response would be evaluated once the emergency passed. The service issued a red alert in ten regions of the region, where classes were suspended on Friday, and Kast cancelled a promulgation ceremony for the reconstruction law to stay in the emergency.
The flood capped a week of historic records, caused by a river of atmospheric water boosted by the El Niño phenomenon. The 52 millimeters that fell on October 6th were the greatest daily record for October in the capital in over a century, and the 74 millimeters accumulated in seven days make this the wettest October in the series, above the 65 millimeters of 1987, according to specialists quoted by Chilean press.
Chile had already suffered a storm in July that left 13 dead and 7 missing, mainly in the regions of Valparaíso, La Araucanía and Biobío.
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