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Police in Chile deployed helicopters to rescue 17 people from an informal settlement along the Mapocho River in Talagante after overnight flooding trapped them in their homes according to Senapred. The group which included five adults two children and some pets was evacuated from the La Manresa sector where dirt roads had turned into rushing streams and taken to the local stadium for medical checks with no injuries reported among them. Local officials from Talagante coordinated with Carabineros and firefighters to manage the operation after the river burst its banks without prior evacuation warnings unlike during earlier storms.
One person was found dead in a flooded underpass in San Bernardo south of Santiago although authorities have not yet confirmed the cause of death Infobae reported. Senapred figures placed 63 people as isolated 61 in shelters and 18 as directly affected by the system across the region as of the latest update. The flooding also prompted evacuation orders for riverside zones in nearby El Monte where the mayor monitored water levels through the night.
Santiago recorded 74 millimetres of rainfall in the first seven days of October making it the rainiest start to the month in 76 years and surpassing the previous mark set in 1987 the Dirección Meteorológica de Chile stated. Meteorologists attributed the heavy spring downpours to an unusually strong El Niño combined with an atmospheric river that is forecast to bring continued wet weather powerful winds and possible storms through the southern hemisphere spring. The phenomenon has placed multiple central regions including Valparaíso and O’Higgins on alert for further impacts.
The affected community in Talagante forms part of a campamento with more than 600 homes built over the past decade directly on the riverbank a situation mayor Sebastián Rosas described to local media as a time bomb requiring a permanent relocation solution. Rosas noted that residents had not been moved ahead of the rains despite the obvious vulnerability of the site and called for concrete government action to address the longstanding risk. Similar concerns were raised in El Monte where the alcalde warned of substantial increases in river flow coming from upstream areas in Santiago.
More than 12,000 homes lost electricity at the height of the storm while hundreds of streets and underpasses across the metropolitan region were inundated the Superintendencia de Electricidad y Combustibles reported. Emergency alerts sent through the SAE system urged residents to evacuate low-lying areas and maintain calm as ground access became difficult in several spots. Weather forecasts indicate a brief easing of rain before a possible return with thunderstorms later in the week according to updated assessments from the meteorological service.
This October flooding follows a major winter storm system in July 2026 that killed at least 13 people isolated more than 15,000 and caused widespread damage across northern and central Chile according to a government summary compiled for international relief agencies. Senapred has since emphasised improved coordination among police military and municipal teams to handle such events though critics in local coverage have pointed to recurring issues with informal settlements in flood-prone zones. Officials continue to monitor river levels and weather patterns as the El Niño influence is expected to persist for several more months.
