More than 3,000 people affected, nearly 200 victims and 1,000 homes damaged left the front system in O’Higgins Regionaccording to the latest balance delivered by the National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred).
The greatest concern of the authorities was in San Vicente de Tagua Tagua, where evacuation alerts (SAE) were issued due to the threat of overflowing of the Millahue and San Hernán reservoirs.
However, the majority of the inhabitants did not want to leave their homes, especially the elderly.
In this regard, the presidential delegate of O’Higgins, Fabio Lopezinsisted on the risk of collapse of the Millahue Dambecause he reported the intervention of third parties without the corresponding authorization.
“The worrying thing is if that roadblock collapses, which is increasing the water level again as a result of these heavy rains. If that were to collapse, “There are 2.5 million cubic meters of water that are going to travel headlong into a town of 900 people,” the authority explained.
“The risk is great, the risk is enormous. But if we do not carry out a preventive evacuation again, the room for maneuver at the moment of collapse, I hope it does not happen, but the margin is almost nothing, it is zero”López added.
MORE THAN 80 PEOPLE ISOLATED IN DOÑIHUE
Another of the complicated situations during the meteorological event was recorded in Doñihuewhere Senapred reported that more than 80 people were isolated.
“They are in different sectors of Doñihue, where the main streams are, they are isolated precisely because the floods of these irrigation ditches, of the canals that have overflowed, they have blocked the entrances. It is a water withdrawal issue, We are working on that to be able to have continuity“, reported the regional director of Senapred, Marcelo Montecinos.
“It does not mean that people are incommunicado, they are completely communicated, they are cared for. However, They do not have the possibility of leaving their homes because the access areas are flooded“he indicated.
Due to the overflowing of canals and the activation of streams, in addition to the risk of collapse of the Millahue and San Hernán reservoirs, About 500 people were evacuated in the O’Higgins Region.
