2024-02-04 14:37:47
The Chilean authorities raised 56 muertos the number of fatalities caused by devastating fires that consumed large sectors of homes in the Valparaíso region, one hundred kilometers east of Santiago. It is feared that the number will continue to grow with the hours.
“We have been updated on the unfortunate number of people who died in this emergency by the Legal Medical Service (SML) and it has risen to 56,” said the region’s presidential delegate, Sofía González.
The authorities already consider it the largest natural emergency in Chile since the 2010 earthquake, which caused 525 deaths and thousands of injuries in the south.
This Sunday, in the first press conference of the day, the authorities warned “complicated conditions” to combat forest fires in the central regions of the country Valparaíso, Metropolitana, O’Higgins, as well as to the south, in Maule, La Araucanía and Los Lagos, in the middle of the heat wave. The director of the National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred), Álvaro Hormazábal, highlighted that there are 34 incidents in combat and 43 controlled.
In addition, he stated that the “(meteorological) conditions are going to continue to be complicated,” although they will not have the same intensity as the previous days.
The alarms went off in several cities of Chile for the multiple forest fires unleashed simultaneously during the night of Friday, which devastated more than 40 thousand hectares. The authorities decreed curfew in Viña del Mar and other cities tourist.
The uncontrolled fire largely affected the Valparaíso region, 100 kilometers east of Santiago. “There are 40 people who died during the fire and six additional people as a result of burns,” said Gabriel Boric this Saturday at dusk, from the Palacio de la Moneda, after having flown over the affected region by helicopter. The figure was later raised to 51 and finally to 56.
The Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá, reported at noon on Saturday 92 active fires and 43,000 hectares burned. Y expressed its concern because “the number of affected areas is multiplying very quickly, and the high potential to affect people, homes and facilities.”
At night, Tohá warned: “After the 2010 earthquake, the forest fires in Valparaíso will be the emergency situation that has generated the most victims in Chile in recent times.” At a press conference, he also clarified that the number of deaths will continue to grow as the hours go by.
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The president of that country anticipated that “the number of victims will increase” due to the seriousness of the situation.
The fire, which was not yet controlled, destroyed thousands of homes in different towns in the region, where President Boric decreed a first curfew by catastrophe in order to mobilize the necessary resources to face the emergency.
The priority is on the Valparaíso fires due to its proximity to urban areas. In that region there are several outbreaks, two of which are large-scale: one hits the Las Tablas Complex, with 6,800 hectares, and the other hits Lo Moscoso, in Quilpué, with 1,150 hectares.
All of these areas are between 80 and 120 kilometers northwest of Santiago, with wine, agricultural, and logging companies, and due to their proximity to the Pacific beaches, they have a large influx of tourists at this time of summer.
There are also active outbreaks of concern in Quillota, which affects about 30 hectares, and in Curauma, in the Tranque La Luz, “a strange fire that started in the morning,” as the governor of the Valparaíso Region, Rodrigo, described it. Mundaka.
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Chile declared a state of emergency due to catastrophe on Friday due to the forest fires that are ravaging the center and south of the country, including tourist areas such as Viña del Mar in Valparaíso.
The official report indicated that they have 17 ships, of which 12 are helicopters, working in the Valparaíso area to combat the flames. In addition, two observation and coordination planes are exploring the affected areas from the air. Given the characteristics of the fire, it was indicated that the movement of the flames had the intensity of between 4 and up to 10 kilometers per hour.
Since Wednesday, temperatures reached 40 degrees in the central area of Chile, where Santiago is located, which increased the risk of fires.
The country has been suffering major forest fires since 2017, many of them in populated areas and in the Valparaíso region where a prolonged drought, rising temperatures, human negligence, unplanned construction and in unlicensed sites, created a perfect platform for these incidents.
This Saturday afternoon, the Argentine Foreign Ministry expressed its “solidarity” with the “people and government of Chile.” From the portfolio led by Diana Mondino they assured: “We express our deep regret and condolences for the victims and our total support in the face of this serious situation.”
Images of the fires in Chile
Destroyed homes in Quilpe, Viña del Mar. Photo: AFPA covered body lies in the street after a fire that affected the hills of Viña del Mar. Photo: AFPDestroyed homes in Quilpe, Viña del Mar. Photo: AFPAn aerial image of the hills from Viña del Mar. Photo: AFPA car completely burned in the commune of Quilpe, Viña del Mar. Photo: AFPPresident Gabriel Boric flying over the fire zone in Viña del Mar. Photo: EFE
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