According to Emol, the presidential delegate for the Metropolitan Region, Germán Codina, reported that President José Antonio Kast authorized the use of 2% of the regional budget through an emergency decree. The Delegation seeks to allocate those funds to buying two weather radars to help anticipate heavy rainfall.
Codina provided details in a conversation with Radio Universo, a day after rainfall affected the capital. According to the official, the decree was signed in response to El Niño, which has brought heavy rainfall to central Chile.
The process goes through the Disaster Risk Management Committee (Cogrid), the regional body that coordinates emergency responses. Through that committee, the Delegation asks the Regional Government to allocate the 2% to buying technology and to wildfire mitigation plans.
"The President of the Republic opened the tap with the emergency decree, because of the El Niño current, for the 2%, to allocate 2% of the region's budget," Codina said.
The delegate said that the previous day he had made progress toward an agreement with the regional governor. The goal, he explained, is for the radars to allow alerts to be issued "at least an hour and a half, two hours before" events like those recorded that day.
Regarding the equipment's location, Codina said that a meteorology expert present at the meeting recommended installing it in two areas of the region. The specific locations will be announced as technical work progresses, he said.
The funds are also intended for the summer. Codina explained that part of the amount would be used for plans to address the vegetation fuel that will grow in the Andean foothills after the rains and could increase the risk of wildfires.
Regarding the figures, the delegate noted that the Regional Government manages a budget of 200 billion pesos. The Delegation estimates that buying the radars and funding the fire mitigation plan would require around $3,500 million.
Codina added that the emergency decree would provide flexibility to purchase and install the radars urgently. The information provides no purchase or installation deadlines, and the agreement with the Regional Government has yet to be formalized.
