In what is described as the worst weather in a decade following a storm and days of heavy raining led to the rivers in Chile flooding key areas of the centre of the country since the past weekend (24, 25 June 2023). At least two people are dead with several others missing. The floods have caused widespread damage to bridges, roads, houses with many fruit orchards and vineyards under water.
The Chilean Government has declared a state of disaster with the Chilean President Gabriel Boric who visited the affected areas. The capital of Santiago as well as a key port of Valparaiso is affected by the floods, according to the president. Over 1,000 people had to be evacuated to safer places, roads are blocked with the main highway, route 5 interrupted.
With rescue operations ongoing since the weekend, a large exporter said they are contacting all supplier producers to hear what the extent of damages on farms and pack houses are: "It has been raining like crazy with lots of flooding. We are working on some information from the growers this week. The 7th region is very affected with the flood of the river."
Source: Lorena Pinto, LinkedIn