Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

Chile

Flash E-Mail 2: Chile: Forest Fires - As of January 30, 2017 (17:00 pm ET)

The forest fires began in mid-January, mostly in the south central part of the country. The Government reports that this is the worst disaster from wild fires in Chile´s history: “The affected area is 20 times greater than in 2016, according to President Bachelet”. The O'Higgins region is the most affected and the Government declared a state of catastrophe for five of the 15 regions (Valparaíso, O'Higgins, Maule, Biobío and La Araucanía). 4.7 million people live in the affected areas (25% of the total population). Priority needs focus on extinguishing fires and identifying key humanitarian needs.

  • The fires cover an area of ​​366,520 hectares.
  • As of 124 fires, 55 fires are under control, 58 are still active and 11 have been extinguished.
  • There are currently 1,108 people in temporary shelters. Some 42 shelters are operational (12 in the Maule region and 30 in Biobío). Some 3,782 people are affected, 1,012 homes were destroyed and 11 people have died.
  • 39 aircrafts have been deployed (planes and helicopters) to combat fires.
  • About 19,430 people are working on controlling and extinguishing the fires (first responders, firefighters, armed forces and state officials).
  • In support of Chilean specialists, some 556 foreign firefighting brigades deployed to respond to the emergency (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, United States, France, Spain, Peru, Mexico, Portugal, Panama and Venezuela).
  • Telecommunications and electricity remain disrupted for more than 4,000 customers.
  • Authorities have distributed more than 141,000 liters of fuel, more than 30,000 bottles of water, 7,650 blankets, 4,470 personal hygiene kits, 4,380 mattresses, 880 boxes of food, 42,930 food rations for 12 hours and 17,200 tools.
  • Authorities believe the fires were set intentionally and have arrested 40 people.
  • OCHA deployed a 10-member UNDAC team of coordination and evaluation specialists to support the Government of Chile, including two Map Action Specialists.
  • The European Union Coordination Team deployed to support the emergency.

See the infographic: http://www.redhum.org/documento_detail/conaf-mapa-de-incendios-forestales-en-combate-al-28-de-enero

Source: CONAF (National Forestry Corporation) and ONEMI (National Emergencies Office).

Disclaimer

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.