Chile fights the deadliest wave of fires in its recent history

“The Valparaíso fires are the greatest tragedy since the 2010 earthquake,” says the Chilean Government. The number of people who have died as a result of the devastating fires that since Friday have been devastating the central region of Valparaíso, 100 kilometers from the capital Santiago, increased to 51 and the Chilean authorities this Saturday referred to the tragedy as the largest severity since the 2010 earthquake, which left 525 victims and thousands injured.

«After the 2010 earthquake, the forest fires in Valparaíso will be the emergency situation that has generated the most victims in Chile in recent times.or,” said the Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá, in a press conference.

Authorities warned that the death toll could be “much higher” as the hours went by.

«“We still have a large part of the territory that is not accessible, consequently we do not have a complete survey of victims nor of damaged homes and infrastructure,” Toha added.

The mayor of Viña del Mar, one of the cities most affected by the fire, said minutes before that the Municipality manages a provisional registry of 372 missing people, which does not imply that all of them are dead but does give an idea of ​​the magnitude of the tragedy.

According to the latest report from the National Forestry Corporation, there are at least eight active fires currently in the Valparaíso region, four of which are of particular concern due to their virulence, rapid spread and proximity to densely populated areas.

The high and unusual temperatures that were recorded on Friday and Saturday in the region, the intense gusts of wind of up to 60 kilometers per hour and the low humidity are making it difficult to control the fire.

Although Chile has experienced one of the rainiest winters in the last 15 years, specialists have been warning for months that the drought has not been eradicated and that there is a high probability that fine, dead vegetation will develop in the central-southern area. easy to burn, to which is added the impact of a forestry model based on the monoculture of pine and eucalyptus.