The frontal system affecting central Chile has so far caused minor damage, according to El Mostrador, which reported the assessment the Government delivered on Tuesday night. The Executive warned, however, that the emergency remains in effect.
Claudio Alvarado, who heads both the Ministerio del Interior (Interior Ministry) and the Secretaría General de Gobierno (government spokesperson's ministry), based his assessment on contact with the regional directors of the Servicio Nacional de Prevención y Respuesta ante Desastres (Senapred, the national disaster prevention and response agency) and with the delegados presidenciales (regional presidential delegates). The review covered the area from Coquimbo to Los Ríos.
According to the authorities, the rain was less intense than forecast. "The pulses of water have been less intense than expected, so the damage has been minor, but it is still raining", Alvarado said.
The minister attributed part of the outcome to preventive measures. Among them he cited safety perimeters, the suspension of classes and preventive evacuations in parts of Las Condes and Talagante.
Classes resumed normally on Wednesday, October 21. The exception is schools that determined they were not in a condition to receive their students.
Louis de Grange, who heads both the Ministerio de Obras Públicas (Public Works Ministry) and the Ministerio de Transportes y Telecomunicaciones (Transport and Telecommunications Ministry), said the capital's flood and mudflow defenses performed well. "On Sunday we did a flyover of the seven main ravines in the Región Metropolitana", he said, referring to the Santiago metropolitan region.
De Grange highlighted the works in Las Condes, Maipú, Pudahuel and San José de Maipo. He also mentioned the ongoing monitoring of Quebrada Honda and the Santa Marta and Santa Corina canals.
Quebrada Honda, in Las Condes, already suffered a mudflow on October 8. Since then, the Dirección de Obras Hidráulicas (the public works hydraulic agency) and the Municipalidad de Las Condes (Las Condes municipal government) have removed more than 30,000 cubic meters of material. The work covers the stretch from Avenida La Plaza to two kilometers upstream and will last 30 days.
The Dirección de Vialidad (the national roads agency) has 30 machines and 11 crews deployed in the Región Metropolitana. It also has another 52 machines and six crews available through existing contracts.
Between Atacama and Biobío, the national deployment reaches nearly 500 machines and 54 emergency crews. Alvarado stressed that the teams will remain at critical points for as long as the rain continues.
