The crack that forced the preventive evacuation of 152 families in Villa El Mirador, in the comuna (municipality) of Arauco (Biobío region), now measures 400 meters, according to Cooperativa. The figure was given to the radio station by the delegado presidencial (presidential delegate, the central government's representative) for the Province of Arauco, Pedro Marileo, and no other source has confirmed it so far.
Marileo explained that 300 families in total live in the area. They arrived in 2012, relocated after the 2010 earthquake.
According to the delegate, there are "around 14" reports from the municipality, prepared by its technical teams and the DOM (Dirección de Obras Municipales, the municipal public works department), warning that the land was "not the most optimal". He added that the Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería (Sernageomin, Chile's national geology and mining service) had also issued a report in previous years reaching the same conclusion.
"Clearly, construction here was carried out on land that was not the most optimal for housing," Marileo told Cooperativa. He recalled that in 2024 residents had already faced a mass movement, that is, a landslide. The source does not specify the dates of the municipal reports or who authorized the construction.
The land is divided into three platforms. Of these, platforms 1 and 2 are at risk of collapse.
Of the 152 families asked to leave, only four had evacuated at the time of the interview. Two received temporary solutions and another two received rental subsidies.
Marileo stressed that the evacuation is preventive and voluntary. He warned, however, that the risk of a landslide remains because of the amount of water accumulated in the ground.
