Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast says that he is travelling to the Biobio region to survey damage from floods.
Published On 17 Jul 2026
Torrential rain and fierce winds have lashed central and southern Chile, leaving at least three people dead and displacing hundreds more.
President Jose Antonio Kast announced on Friday that he was travelling to the Biobio region, one of the most impacted, to survey the damage and the response from authorities.
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“A lot of rain on the road, but it’s passable,” Kast wrote in a social media post, showing himself en route. “Take care.”
Further heavy rainfall is expected on Friday in the country’s central zone.
SENAPRED, the country’s disaster relief agency, has reported that 466 people remain in shelters, some of whom were evacuated as a preventative measure.
Another 158 residents have been isolated by the rising water levels, mostly in the Coquimbo region. Alicia Cebrian, the head of the agency, said that seven people have been injured.
SENAPRED announced evacuation orders for the Campamento Ribera del Rio area, near the commune of Talagante, citing rising river levels.
The floods have disrupted life across Chile, with schools in some parts of the country suspending classes on Friday. The state-owned mining giant Codelco reported that it had stopped surface operations at the Andina mine due to storms.
About 257,000 people remain without power, mostly in the south.
Among those killed in the storms was a labourer clearing a road in the southern town of Negrete. Another person fell while cleaning a roof in Temuco, and a third victim suffered a fatal electric shock in the capital Santiago.
Kast, who campaigned in the 2025 election on a hardline, anti-crime platform, has pledged institutional support for those affected by the flooding.
He was inaugurated as president in March, and the floods come less than six months into his term.
