Chile flood-displaced hit 14,000
Pastor Dale Morgan
Chile flood-displaced hit 14,000*
By Antonio de la Jara
Reuters
Friday, May 23, 2008; 12:16 PM
SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Heavy rains and flooding that have killed five
people and displaced thousands in south-central Chile also have
collapsed road and rail bridges and left many in the capital without
drinking water, the government said on Friday.
Many schools remained closed in Santiago and elsewhere on Friday after
flood waters churned up sediment at water treatment plants, while
several rivers burst their banks farther south deluging thousands of homes.
"More than seven rivers have overflowed," said Juan Saldivia,
undersecretary of public works. "We had a very complex situation
overnight, and Route 5 (Chile's main north-south highway) has been cut
in three places."
Television footage showed a collapsed railway bridge in the region of
Maule, about 125 miles south of Santiago, which forced the suspension of
rail services to the south.
The government said 8,000 homes had been affected and that 316 people
were stranded across the country. About 500 people were in shelters
while 14,000 forced from their homes were living with friends and family.
Of the five people killed earlier in the weeklong deluge, two died in
landslides, one was struck by a boulder and another was hit by a falling
tree. One man died of hypothermia.
Streets turned into rivers in some areas.
In Santiago alone, 1.4 inches (35.7 millimeters) of rain fell in the
space of 24 hours -- the amount that normally falls during the entire
southern hemisphere winter.
Parts of Chile experience downpours and flooding around this time every
year.
Police and firemen armed with sandbags and heavy machinery sought to
build flood defenses to protect houses in the eastern sector of the
capital after a canal overflowed.
There were no immediate details of any impact on crops, which had been
hurt by one of the worst droughts in decades. Maule is a major wine
producing region.
Rains eased on Friday, giving way to sunshine, but further rainfall was
expected next week.
The upside is that the rains have refilled hydroelectric dam reservoirs
drained in recent months by the worst drought in decades, and reduced
the likelihood of electricity rationing.
The major Colbun reservoir, owned by the company of the same name and
located in southern central Chile, has seen its levels rise beyond the
May average.
"The rains imply that we can relax a bit and that the chances of
rationing have been reduced," Energy Minister Marcelo Tokman told an
energy seminar in Santiago.
Scant rainfall has hit hydroelectric power generation, while cuts in
natural gas imports from neighboring Argentina and high costs of running
diesel generators are putting pressure on industry and the public alike.
But Tokman said the rains and guarantees of at least limited natural gas
from Argentina have brightened the energy outlook for the time being.
(Additional reporting by Monica Vargas and Pav Jordan; Writing by Simon
Gardner; Editing by Bill Trott)