At least three people died Thursday in Chile as a rain and wind storm battered ten of the country’s sixteen regions, with authorities warning the system is expected to intensify in the coming hours.
Interior Minister Claudio Alvarado said at a press conference that one of the main tools to face the emergency is self-care and compliance with official instructions, adding that the worst of the weather system has not yet arrived.
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The deceased include a worker struck by a falling tree while clearing a road in Biobío, a man who slipped off a roof while cleaning gutters in La Araucanía, and another man who suffered an electric shock in Santiago.
More than 200 people have been preventively evacuated, approximately twenty homes have been destroyed or severely damaged, and nearly 500,000 households are without electricity—mainly in La Araucanía and Biobío, according to the latest official balance.
#EjércitoEnAcción
Más de cinco mil efectivos del #EjércitoDeChile se encuentran desplegados en apoyo a la comunidad de las regiones que afecta el sistema frontal. Estamos en permanente coordinación con los Comités para la Gestión del Riesgo de Desastres (COGRID), para dar una… pic.twitter.com/yVNY9fDjXH— Ejército de Chile (@Ejercito_Chile) July 16, 2026
The storm results from three frontal systems entering from the south and advancing toward the central zone, where some areas may see up to 250 millimeters of rain in the next 48 hours, according to Chile’s Meteorological Directorate.
High surf has been recorded, especially in Valparaíso, along with wind gusts reaching 100 kilometers per hour in some locations.
In Coquimbo, a crane collapsed due to strong winds and fell onto several homes, though no injuries were reported.
The Government suspended classes for Friday in most affected regions, with the storm linked to the El Niño phenomenon and arriving after an unusually warm and dry autumn across much of the country.
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