Heavy rain and floods in Chile by Kirsty McCabe
Over a week’s worth of heavy rain across a swathe of Chile has led to flash floods, landslides and the evacuation of thousands of people.
At least five people have been killed with around 15,000 displaced by the floods. Rivers burst their banks around the port area of Valparaiso, flooding hundreds of homes and cutting off roads. One of the worst affected areas was across the Maule region, just south of the capital, Santiago. Here, much of the fertile agricultural land was washed away when the Lontue River bursts its banks.
The recent heavy rains were due to a series of low pressure systems which developed over the Pacific Ocean and moved inland. At the peak of the rains, more than 90mm (4 inches) fell in the Maule region on Thursday. Temperatures are starting to fall across much of the country as high pressure builds from the west, drawing up colder southerly winds.
Despite large parts of Chile seeing a brief spell of drier and brighter weather this weekend, further rain is expected at the start of next week. With cooler air around, much of the rain will turn into snow as it reaches the Andes mountain range, with the risk of some heavy snowfalls expected towards the east of Santiago.
Chile is one of the driest countries in the world and regularly suffers prolonged droughts through the summer months. However, during autumn, low pressure often takes charge of the weather, bringing a succession of fronts across the country which can lead to flooding as the ground is so dry from the summer months.
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