Chile Declares Las Condes a Disaster Zone After Sudden Mudflows and Flooding

Overview

• Heavy rains that fell in the days before Friday produced sudden mudflows that swept through Las Condes, dragging vehicles, inundating homes and leaving streets covered in more than a meter of mud in some places.
• Authorities declared Las Condes a disaster zone on Friday and the national disaster service issued red alerts for 10 mountainous municipalities because soils are saturated and new landslides remain likely.
• Firefighters said they rescued or evacuated more than 1,000 people and emergency teams are clearing debris to restore access to blocked roads and damaged neighborhoods.
• At least six people were reported injured, including a one-year-old child with fractures, and critical services such as clinics were flooded while thousands of customers lost power in parts of Santiago.
• The Mapocho River overflowed, causing further road closures and damage, and officials warned that recovery will depend on stabilizing slopes, assessing structural damage and maintaining emergency operations in case of new floods or slides.