World · Chile floods · ArchiveChile Storm Death Toll Reaches 13; 60,000 Isolated as Floods Devastate NorthAired July 23, 2026 at 7:21 PM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00A week of torrential rain and0:01catastrophic flooding in northern Chile0:03has now claimed at least 13 lives.0:0660,000 people remain completely cut off,0:09stranded by washed-out bridges, flooded0:11roads, and landslides across the0:12Coquimbo and Atacama regions. More than0:152,800 homes have been destroyed.0:17President Jose Antonio Kast has declared0:19a constitutional state of catastrophe0:21for the hardest-hit areas.0:23The Coquimbo region and the Huasco0:25province of Atacama are the epicenters0:27of this disaster. Coquimbo recorded over0:30200 mm of rain, a historic deluge for a0:33region that is normally bone dry. Entire0:36communities have been swallowed by mud0:37and floodwaters. Those are the numbers0:39as of today. More than a quarter of a0:42million people are without electricity.0:44The death toll is expected to rise as0:46rescue teams reach isolated areas. Towns0:49across both regions have been turned0:51into islands. Rescue crews are0:53struggling to reach cut-off communities0:55as landslides continue to block the main0:57highways. The government has mobilized a0:59massive emergency response. More than1:01150 tons of humanitarian aid has been1:04flown into the affected zones. The1:06Ministry of Health has declared a1:07sanitary alert for both regions, while1:10classes remain suspended in three of the1:11country's 16 regions. State-owned copper1:14miner Codelco has halted surface1:16operations at its Andina mine as a1:18precaution. Early estimates peg economic1:20losses at roughly $400 million,1:23and the crisis is far from over. A new1:26frontal system is forecast to arrive1:28starting tonight and continue through1:29the weekend. The risk of further1:31flooding and landslides remains severe1:33across these northern regions.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗