The Municipality of Santiago activated a preventive plan that distributes emergency teams across four areas of the municipality. The measure responds to the weather front that will arrive on Sunday, October 18, and reach its greatest intensity on the afternoon and evening of Tuesday 20.
According to La Tercera, the Chilean Meteorological Directorate (DMC) issued an alert for moderate to heavy rainfall, with between 15 and 25 millimeters in the Metropolitan Region, thunderstorms and possible hail.
The municipality warns that the main risk is intense rainfall concentrated in periods of 30 minutes to an hour. That pattern can cause flooding in streets and buildings. The forecast calls for light rain from Sunday afternoon, gradually increasing during Monday.
Mayor Mario Desbordes chaired a municipal Disaster Risk Management Committee (Cogrid) meeting this Saturday. Earlier that morning, he attended the regional meeting convened by the Presidential Delegation alongside the National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred), the DMC and mayors from the region.
"We have to prepare for the most difficult scenario, with hail, flooding, etc.," Desbordes said. He added that meetings had been held with municipal teams, the police and the Santiago Fire Department. "We hope we won't have the same problems we had last week," he said, referring to the weather front on Tuesday, October 13.
That episode provided lessons. According to the municipality, power outages, traffic lights out of service and traffic congestion hampered the deployment of teams. Resources will therefore now be positioned closer to areas that may need assistance.
The four operational stations will be in the northeast, near Plaza de Armas and City Hall; in the southeast, near Matta Avenue; in the northwest, around Mapocho and Parque de los Reyes; and in the southwest, around Parque Centenario, San Alfonso and O'Higgins Park.
Each station will have municipal staff, pickup trucks, trucks and tools. Equipment will be available to unblock sewers and clean storm drains, along with pumps to remove water from streets and underpasses, electric generators and chainsaws to clear fallen trees and branches.
Residents affected by leaks or flooding will be able to receive assistance with materials such as nylon sheeting and sandbags. The Civil Protection and Emergency Directorate will prioritize cases posing the greatest risk to people, homes and public infrastructure.
The sources do not detail specific recommendations for the public. Before Tuesday, the municipality will inspect drains and storm drains to verify that they work and will maintain ongoing coordination with regional agencies as the forecast is updated.
