Chile Floods: Helicopters Airlift Talagante Residents — SkimNews
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- Chilean police used helicopters to airlift residents — and their pets — from homes on the banks of the Mapocho river in Talagante after fast-rising waters trapped them overnight.
- The Mapocho river burst its banks after torrential rains, flooding large parts of Talagante, 35km (22 miles) southwest of Santiago; unlike July's storms, the riverside community had NOT been pre-evacuated.
- Santiago recorded 74mm of rainfall in the first seven days of October, making it the rainiest October in 76 years according to meteorologists.
- One person was found dead in a flooded underpass in San Bernardo, south of Santiago, though officials have yet to confirm the cause of death.
- Meteorologists tied the extreme weather to this year's unusually strong El Niño and warned it will continue to bring wet weather, powerful winds, and storms through the southern hemisphere's spring.
- Climate experts warned the 2026-2027 El Niño is likely to trigger major weather pattern shifts globally, with central Chile expected to see above-average rainfall.
Why it matters: The floods exposed a preparedness gap: a riverside community hit again this year was NOT evacuated ahead of the downpours, unlike in July, and one death has already been confirmed in San Bernardo. With the 2026-2027 El Niño just starting and forecast to run through the southern hemisphere's spring, central Chile faces repeated severe weather events without institutionalized pre-emptive evacuations.
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