“The biggest tragedy” that Chile has experienced in more than a decade: At least 64 people have died in fires ravaging the Valparaiso region (center), and the toll will “significantly rise”, President Gabriel Boric announced on Sunday. .
Entire residential areas were destroyed, cars burned, thousands of hectares of forest burned to ashes… For the third day in a row, firefighters continue to fight dozens of fires in the center and south of the country.
“I can unfortunately confirm that there have been 64 deaths. The number will rise, we know it will rise significantly,” Gabriel Boric said during a trip to Quilpue, located outside Viña del Mar in the Valparaiso region.
An AFP team was able to see entire neighborhoods and cars burning. There, thousands of residents were trapped for several hours on Friday as they tried to escape by car.
“This is the biggest disaster we’ve experienced since the 2010 earthquake,” Mr Boric said, referring to the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that followed the tsunami on February 27, 2010, which killed more than 500 people.
According to the National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (SENAPRED), firefighters were battling 34 fires on Sunday morning and had 43 under control.
Lilian Rojas, a 67-year-old retiree, lived near a botanical garden in the resort town of Viña del Mar, one of the worst-hit areas.
“There’s not a single house left,” she said amid the rubble and ashes.
She says the fire caught them by surprise within minutes. “I went out to look and people were already running. I left my house, closed the door and left,” recounted the retiree, showing off her pink dress: “This is the only thing I have left.”
Rodrigo Pulgar, a driver, lost his home in El Oliver in the hills of Valparaiso.
“It was hell, the explosions. I tried to help my neighbor get his car out, my house was on fire from behind. It was raining ash,” he says.
– favorable weather conditions –
Weather conditions in the past few hours appear to be more favorable, Interior Minister Carolina Toha said, describing a phenomenon typical of the Pacific coast that produces lots of clouds, high humidity and therefore low temperatures.
“Present conditions are more conducive to treating victims and dousing the fire,” she added.
The Las Tablas fire, the largest in the Valparaiso region, is still active and “covers an 80km perimeter”, Ms Toha said.
Across the region, popular for its beaches and its wine production, 17 fire brigades, 1,300 soldiers and civilian volunteers were deployed to fight the blaze and help destitute residents.
– “The Destruction of Famine” –
From Rome, after the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis called for prayers “for the dead and wounded in the devastating fire in Chile” on Sunday.
European diplomacy chief Josep Borrell announced on climate.
As of Wednesday, temperatures in central Chile and the capital Santiago are nearing 40 degrees.
This heatwave is a result of the El Niño climate phenomenon currently affecting the southern cone of Latin America in mid-summer, which has made wildfires worse due to global warming. After Chile and Colombia, there is a threat of heat wave in Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil in the coming days.
Published at 7:11 pm on February 4, AFP
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