A general view of a flooded area in Diego de Almagro town, March 28, 2015.Ivan Alvarado/Reuters
Chile's government said on Monday that 17 people have been killed and 20 are still missing after torrential rains caused flooding in a northern desert region.
The heavy rains last week swelled rivers and led to flash-flooding that also caused power outages and blocked roads. President Michelle Bachelet's spokesman announced Monday that the government will provide nearly $10-million to the flood-hit areas.
The precipitation in the northern city of Antofagasta was a stark example of abnormal rain in the Atacama desert, which is one of the driest on Earth. From Wednesday to Thursday morning, about an inch of rain (24 millimetres) fell in Antofagasta, an area that typically receives only about 0.07 inches (1.7 mm) of rain in a year, according to Chile's meteorological service.
Communities in Chile's northern desert regions have been digging houses and cars out of the mud and working to reopen roads. The military has been deployed and the government said it has sent 700 tons in aid, including food, mattresses and medicine. But some said more help is needed.
"People are overwhelmed and tempers are high because the help is insufficient," said Solange Bordones, a Diaguita indigenous leader who has been helping those affected. "The military is assisting, but the people feel left behind."
Deputy Interior Minister Mahmud Aleuy has called the flooding, "the worst rain disaster to fall on the north in 80 years." As we clear the roads and flooded zones, we may have a higher number of dead and missing."
Roads were cut to dozens of communities, many of which still lacked access to potable water or electricity on Monday.
"I lost it all," Jose Olivares, 66, a farmer said by telephone from the Alto del Carmen community in the Atacama region.
"We hadn't seen so much rain fall in more than 50 years," said Olivares, whose home and 10 acres (four hectares) of mangoes and peaches were buried by a mudslide. "I lost my house. I wasn't even able to save a bit of sugar. Thank God we're alive."
One of the 33 Chilean miners who were trapped deep underground for 69 days in 2010 also lost his family home.
"It's so unfair to see all the effort made by my family to leave something behind for our children being completely lost all of a sudden," Victor Zamora, told local Canal 13 TV.
Eva Vergara contributed to this report.