In Chile, the snow keeps falling. A “catastrophe” has been declared as the nation’s interior minister has been calling the weather disturbance a “white earthquake”.
“It has snowed more than ever,” said Curacautin Mayor Jorge Saquel. “This is an anomaly. … This worries us because the meteorologists assure us that new snowstorms are coming.”
Several municipalities are buried in the above average snow, roads have been blocked, and in the town of Lonquimay, snow depth has been measured at almost eight feet!
The storm has been much stronger than Chileans are used to at this time in their winter, and what worries many is that the forecast looks as though more is on the way.
Relief effort is coming, say authorities, however reaching some communities is an issue due to the snow and the remoteness of some rural towns. Helicopters may be used to reach those in the hardest to access areas hit by the storm.
As of last Wednesday, as reported by CNN, more than 6,500 people remained trapped in the town of Lonquimay, and many local officials were displeased with relief efforts coming from the Chilean government.
Lonquimay Mayor Guillermo Vasquez told reporters, “The settlers and people of Lonquimay are buried underneath the snow. There are areas with more than 2.3 meters of snow and we have gone many days without being able to communicate with many of them.”
You can read CNN’s full report here. 