American Marconi Wireless News - Chile declares state of emergency over deadly rainfall

Rain has lashed the northern arid regions of Coquimbo and Atacama since last Wednesday, where such intense levels of precipitation are highly unusual.

Five people have died, four people are missing and over 1,100 homes have been destroyed or severely damaged due to the extreme weather, according to official figures.

The "increasingly serious" conditions prompted President Jose Antonio Kast to declare a state of emergency in the affected areas on Monday, he announced to the press.

The measure allows the government to deploy the military, restrict freedom of movement and quickly mobilize aid.

Rising rivers have blocked roads and isolated communities, while mud and power cuts have disrupted drinking water supplies in Coquimbo.

"What normally rains in a month fell in an hour" on Sunday, deputy interior minister Maximo Pavez told reporters, calling the rainfall "abnormal and extreme."

Chile has not witnessed this much rainfall in two decades, Arnaldo Zuniga of the national meteorological service told AFP.

"We haven't had a situation like this in quite a few years," he said.

P.Costa--AMWN