Chile grapples with massive outages and floods from severe frontal system

A powerful frontal system swept Chile from the Atacama region in the north to La Araucanía in the south, bringing wind gusts up to 100 km/h, heavy rain and high seas. The storm triggered widespread power failures, with more than 10 000 customers without electricity in the Llanquihue province alone, 24 000 in La Araucanía, another 24 000 in Coquimbo, and over 9 000 still without service in the Santiago Metropolitan area. Energy distributors such as Saesa, CGE, Enel and Minera Los Pelambres mobilised thousands of crew members – CGE deployed over 1 600 brigades and 5 000 personnel – and have restored over 90 % of the affected supply. The event caused three fatalities, damaged about 500 homes and left thousands of families without water in several communes. Rainfall totals topped 140 mm in parts of Coquimbo and reached 106 mm in Chillán. Authorities issued evacuation orders for vulnerable informal settlements, and the Ministry of Housing and Urbanism intensified monitoring of camps. President José Antonio Kast toured the Biobío region, leading a coordination table with regional officials, the armed forces and civil protection agencies. The government continues to hold COGRID meetings, monitor river levels, and prepare emergency assistance for the most affected communities.