A state of catastrophe has been announced in Chile due to raging fires that have forced evacuation of as many as 20,000 people and killed at least 18 people.
Chile President Gabriel Boric Font declared the catastrophe in two regions in the south of the country on Sunday. Firefighters across Chile are working to extinguish 24 active fires located in various parts of the country as of Sunday,according to CONAF, an agency of the Chilean government that oversees the management of forests.
The largest fires have been in the regions of Nuble and Bio Bio and these regions are situated roughly 500 km south of Chile's capital city, Santiago.
In a post on X on January 18, Font stated, "In view of the serious ongoing fires, I have decided to declare a state of catastrophe in the Ñuble and Biobío regions. All resources are available."
In another post on the social media platform, he expressed condolences for those who lost their lives due to the disaster and regretted the fact that the figure was likely to increase.
"These are difficult times for the country, especially for areas such as Penco and Tomé, which is why I want to express my condolences to the families who have lost loved ones in this tragedy. Today we have a confirmed number of 18 people deceased, but unfortunately we are certain that this figure will increase. For that reason, I send them all the affection of Chile. Know that we are working with all the resources of the State deployed," he said.
Survivors' account
"We had to leave with the shirts on our back. If we had stayed another 20 minutes, we would have burned to death," said Matias Cid, a 25-year-old student in Penco city was quoted as saying by the Bangkok Post.
The student said that the flames moved very fast and "devoured homes" through the night.
Another resident, 57-year-old Alejandro Arredondo, said that the small port town of Lirquen was hit severely by the blaze and many people rushed to the beach to save themselves.
"There is nothing left standing," he said as he looked upon the burning landscape of metal and wood that once used to be people's homes.
Also Read | Here's how Starlink showed protests erupting in Iran to the world
About the fires
So far, approximately 8,500 hectares (21,000 acres) of land within the affected areas of Chile has been burned due to fire, putting many local communities in danger, thus prompting officials to implement evacuation orders for many residents.
Conditions such as high temperatures and strong winds have contributed to the rapid rate of growth of the wildfires and have created barriers to firefighter's ability to effectively extinguish the flames.
The majority of Chile is under extreme temperature warnings, with projected highs expected to be around 38 degrees across areas stretching from Santiago to Bio-Bio on Sunday and Monday.
