When it rains, it pours....read this out of Santiago!:
"The National Emergency Office has declared a rain and snow alert in Regions V, VI and the Metropolitan Region for fear of avalanches caused by the heavy downpours that have swept central Chile since Monday.
Authorities are fearful of a repeat performance of an avalanche that occurred in Quebrada de Macul in 1993, which killed 30 people.
However, "the difference with '93 is that there is much less snow on the Andes," said Alberto Maturana, Onemi director "So the alert should be taken as nothing more than a preventive measure." In Santiago, rain continued to fall Tuesday and flooding was reported in 40 of the city's districts, the worst affected being Lo Espejo, Lo Ovalle, Recoleta, Maipu and Melipilla.
On Tuesday morning, 42.8 millimeters of rain had fallen in the capital city in the previous 24 hours. This brought total rainfall for the year so far to 95.1 millimeters, 30 percent more than normally recorded at this time of the year.
Rain has also refused to let up in southern Chile, which is experiencing what Public Works Undersecretary Juan Carlos Latorre called "the worst storm in southern Chile for 40 years.""
It appears likely that the road to Lipangue will certainly have suffered damage due to washouts. Hopefully, Medinah can get a bulldozer up there quickly to fix any damages.
Current weather in Santiago is heavy rain and 43 degrees F. More than likely, very heavy snow is probably falling now at Lipangue. cnn.com |
