Chile declares state of catastrophe due to fires in the south of the country

The President of Chile, Gabriel Boric, declared, in the early hours of this Sunday (18), a state of catastrophe in two regions in the south of the country due to forest fires affecting the region and which caused the evacuation of around 20,000 people. Forestry brigades are fighting 19 fires across the country, 12 of them in the regions of Ñuble and Biobío, around 500 km south of Santiago. “In view of the serious ongoing fires, I have decided to declare a state of catastrophe in the regions of Ñuble and Biobío. All resources are available,” said the Chilean president in a publication on X. A report on possible victims or affected homes has not yet been delivered. See the videos that are trending on g1 According to images released by local TV, the flames affected inhabited areas, especially in the municipalities of Penco and Lirquen, in the Biobío region, where around 60,000 people live. Burnt vehicles were also recorded on the streets. Fire and smoke rise from a forest fire in the Biobío region. REUTERS/Pablo Hidalgo “The Penco area and the entire Lirquen sector is the most critical and where the most evacuations were carried out. We estimate that around 20 thousand people have been evacuated”, declared Alicia Cebrián, director of the National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred) in an interview with the Mega channel. In recent years, forest fires have severely affected the country, especially in the central-south region. On February 2, 2024, several fires started simultaneously on the outskirts of the city of Viña del Mar, 110 km northwest of Santiago. According to updated data from the Public Ministry, 138 people died. In addition, 16,000 people were affected by the fires, according to official figures.

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