Six Years' Worth of Rain Pours Down in Hours... State of Emergency Declared

[Anchor]

In a desert region of Chile that typically sees only 2mm of rain a year, six years' worth of rainfall poured down in just a few hours. In Peru as well, the risk of landslides caused by torrential rain has led to the closure of roads leading to the famous Machu Picchu archaeological site.

Reporter Yu Deok-gi has the details.

[Reporter]

Muddy water rushes down at a terrifying speed, engulfing the village.

Vehicles are swept away helplessly.

[No, no, no... Oh my god!]

On the 18th local time, a massive landslide occurred in the northern Chilean coastal city of Tocopilla along the Pacific.

[Tocopilla Resident, Chile: I heard a noise and went outside to find trucks and cars being swept away in the mud. It was truly terrifying.]

Tocopilla is a desert region with an average annual precipitation of only 2.5mm, and the city is built in a valley terrain. However, up to 15mm of rain—equivalent to six years' worth of precipitation—poured down all at once in just a few hours, leading to the landslide.

So far, one person has died and three others have been injured, while some 580 people have been displaced and over 1,100 have evacuated.

Declaring a state of emergency, the Chilean government pointed to the El Nino phenomenon, in which Pacific sea surface temperatures are higher than usual, as the cause of this unprecedented rain.

Just a month ago, Chile lost at least 10 lives to heavy rain.

[Maximo Pavez / Chilean Undersecretary of the Interior: The entire country is experiencing abnormal weather due to a powerful El Nino phenomenon.]

In neighboring Peru, heavy rain has also fallen across various areas, causing floods and landslides that have led to continuous damage, including paralyzed highways.

[Tourist: I don't know how to feed (the children). I have three kids in the car and we've already been trapped (on the highway) for three days. There's no other way. The little food we brought is almost gone.]

The road to the famous tourist destination of Machu Picchu has also been closed due to the risk of landslides.

The Peruvian government has declared a state of emergency and set out to provide relief for displaced residents and recover from the damage.

(Video Editing: Jung Sung-hoon, Design: Kim Ye-ji)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.