The overflowing Águila ravine flooded streets in Peñalolén, in the Metropolitan Region, at around 21:30 on Tuesday, October 20. That same night, rising waters in the Mapocho River forced the evacuation of an informal settlement in Talagante, while in Arauco, in the Biobío Region, 152 families were ordered to evacuate because of a new sinkhole.
According to El Mostrador, the National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred) is maintaining a Red Alert throughout the Metropolitan Region. Its latest national report records two disaster victims, 111 people in shelters and one home destroyed in Valparaíso. Of those in shelters, 103 are in the Metropolitan Region and eight in Coquimbo.
In Peñalolén, a municipality in eastern Santiago at the foot of the Andes, water covered the intersection of Álvaro Casanova and Las Vertientes, according to T13. Transporte Informa advised people to avoid the intersection. Residents feared the water would enter their homes and criticized the containment measures as insufficient.
Hours earlier, Peñalolén Mayor Miguel Concha had complained to the government that the machinery promised for work on the Nido de Águila ravine had not arrived. Metropolitan Presidential Delegate Germán Codina responded that the Ministry of Public Works had assessed the rocks in the area and found they posed no additional risk.
West of the capital, Senapred declared a Yellow Alert in Maipú, Padre Hurtado, Talagante, Peñaflor, El Monte and Melipilla. The measure followed the General Water Directorate (DGA) detecting an increase in the Mapocho's flow, with levels continuing to rise.
In Talagante, about 35 kilometers southwest of central Santiago, Senapred ordered the evacuation of the Ribera del Río informal settlement after the river overflowed and sent messages through the Emergency Alert System (SAE). T13 reported that some residents resisted leaving their homes.
In Maipú, according to T13, rain and hail caused water to enter homes in just 15 minutes. The municipality's mayor attributed the flooding to unusually intense rainfall that overwhelmed drainage. In Puente Alto, Mayor Matías Toledo reported the precautionary evacuation of 172 families from the Valle Hermoso and El Sueño de Todos informal settlements.
In Arauco, a coastal municipality south of Concepción, Senapred declared a Red Alert. The 152 families in Villa El Mirador received evacuation orders because of a second sinkhole in an area that already has a crack more than 400 meters long. Provincial Presidential Delegate Pedro Marileo specified that the order covers all of platform 100 and part of platform 200 of the housing development.
Authorities opened a shelter in Arauco and increased police patrols. El Mostrador cautions that the number of families ordered to evacuate does not equal the number of people who actually reached the shelter; that figure has not been reported.
The Superintendency of Electricity and Fuels (SEC) recorded 79,491 customers without power during the afternoon, mainly in Coquimbo, Valparaíso, Maule and the Metropolitan Region. In its nighttime report, the government said 99.2% of customers had power.
The Ministry of Education announced a return to classes this Wednesday, but La Florida, Los Vilos, Quillota, La Calera, Nogales, Graneros, Machalí and Codegua maintained the suspension at their municipal schools and preschools.
Interior Minister Claudio Alvarado, who holds two ministerial portfolios, said the rainfall was less intense than forecast and that debris-flow containment works had held up in Santiago's critical areas, although he stressed that the emergency continues.
For this Wednesday, October 21, the Chilean Meteorological Directorate (DMC) issued an advisory for likely convective clouds with tornadic characteristics in Maule, Ñuble, Biobío and La Araucanía, with strong winds from the early morning through the night. Senapred urged people to avoid areas at risk and follow evacuation instructions if waters rise again.
