At Least 12 Dead or Missing in Chile After Rains
Date: 13-Jul-06
Country: CHILE
Author: Rodrigo Martinez
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet traveled to the site of a landslide that buried 10 people in the Bio Bio region, 300 miles (500 km) south of the capital, and the government declared the region a disaster zone, freeing up resources to respond.
Intense rains caused rivers to overflow, including the Bio Bio, one of Chile's biggest waterways. Power lines and highways were cut off in some towns, rail service was interrupted, and deep waters flowed through the streets of the southern city of Los Angeles and the port of Valparaiso.
Bachelet watched as workers in the town of Chiguayante, near the coastal city of Concepcion, searched for the 10th victim of a landslide.
Among those killed were three men from Chile's volunteer firefighting corps, who had been searching for victims after one landslide and were carried away in a second.
Some townspeople complained that Bachelet's arrival interrupted search and rescue efforts in Chiguayante.
The president told reporters: "The government's principal task is coming to help ... the people who have suffered a tremendous catastrophe and a tremendous personal and family tragedy."
Interior Minister Andres Zaldivar said 700 people were sent to shelters in the south, but the number could rise. Thousands were driven from their homes as rivers rose.
A policeman was rescued from the Teno River about 20 miles (40 km) downstream from where he and a fellow officer were swept away by the raging waters. The other officer was still missing.
The two were trying to evacuate people living on the riverbank when the flood carried away their patrol car.
(Additional reporting by Monica Vargas and Lorena Ormeno)