Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Feb 4: At least 13 persons were killed on Friday, and 14,000 hectares of land were torched as dozens of wildfires raged in Chile amid the summer heat wave in the country, according to CBC News.
Eleven people, including a firefighter,died in the town of Santa Juana in Biobio a region about 310 miles away from the capital Santiago, as reported by Reuters.
According to the ‘The Guardian’ reports, Chile’s government has confirmed a widened state of emergency amid wildfires as the South American nation faces a summer heat wave transversely southern and central regions of the country.
President Gabriel Boric on Thursday evening declared a catastrophe in the region of Biobío, allowing the deployment of soldiers and additional resources.
President Gabriel Boric on Friday travelled to Nuble and Biobio. “My role as president today is to ensure that all resources will be available for the emergency and so that people feel that they are not going to be alone,” said Boric. He also doubted that some fires may have been started purposely.
Hundreds of homes have been damaged as 39 fires fume across the country, Interior Minister Carolina Toha said.
According to the Chilean disaster agency Senapred, some families sought refuge in shelters. Fires disrupted traffic on highways, and numerous settlements have been exiled.
In keeping with weather forecasts on Friday, temperatures are expected to be over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Nuble’s capital, Chillan, with strong winds that risked worsening fire conditions, Reuters reported.
The Chilean disaster agency Senapred claims that several families sought safety in shelters. Highway traffic was interrupted by fires, and many communities were evacuated.
As global warming and drought worsen fire conditions worldwide, wildfires have increased in size, intensity, and frequency. This has led to catastrophic fires in countries like Chile, Algeria, France, Spain, and the western United States.
Earlier, in late December, a forest fire near the coastal resort town of Vinas Del Mar in Chile killed at least one person and destroyed more than 100 homes.
