Voice of America
05 Feb 2023, 16:07 GMT+10
SANTIAGO, CHILE - Chile extended an emergency declaration to yet another region on Saturday as firefighters struggled to control dozens of raging wildfires that have claimed at least 22 lives amid a scorching heat wave that has broken records.
The government declared a state of catastrophe in the La Araucania region, which is south of nuble and Biobio, two central-southern regions where the emergency declaration had already been issued. The measure allows for greater cooperation with the military.
At least 22 people have died in connection to the fires and 554 have been injured, including 16 in serious condition, according to Interior Minister Carolina Toha. The death toll is likely to rise as Toha said there are unconfirmed reports of at least 10 people missing.
Sixteen of the deaths took place in Biobio, five in La Araucania and one in nuble.
The deaths included a Bolivian pilot who died when a helicopter that was helping combat the flames crashed in La Araucania. A Chilean mechanic also died in the crash.
Over the past week, fires have burned through an area equivalent to what is usually burned in an entire year, Toha said in a news conference.
The fires come at a time of record high temperatures.
'The thermometer has reached points that we have never known until now,' Toha said.
As of Saturday morning, there were 251 wildfires raging throughout Chile, 151 of which were under control, according to Chile's Senapred disaster agency.
'Seventy-six new fires appeared yesterday,' Toha said Saturday.
The minister also suggested the fires should serve as yet another wake-up call about the effects of climate change.
'The evolution of climate change shows us again and again that this has a centrality and a capacity to cause an impact that we have to internalize much more,' Toha said. 'Chile is one of the countries with the highest vulnerability to climate change, and this isn't theory but rather practical experience.'
Chile is requesting international cooperation to assist the firefighting efforts.
'We're requesting support from several countries to address the emergency,' President Gabriel Boric wrote on social media.
Get a daily dose of Maryland Leader news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Maryland Leader.
More InformationIn Warsaw last February, President Joe Biden condemned the lawless Russian invasion of Ukraine: "The idea that over 100,000 forces ...
TOKYO, Japan: Fears over intensifying Chinese military activity directed towards Taiwan could escalate into war have prompted Japan, the United ...
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras: After Honduran President Xiomara Castro severed ties with Taiwan in favor of China to gain more investment and ...
NEW YORK, New York - A Manhattan grand jury has indicted Former U.S. President Donald Trump for his role in ...
MEMPHIS, Tennessee: Tennessee authorities are slowly releasing information about a weekend car crash on a freeway that killed six young ...
JAKARTA, Indonesia: Officials from Indonesia's Aceh province said that more than 180 Rohingya Muslims landed this week by boat, in ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks finished the third quarter with a bang on Friday. Despite a volatile start, ...
CUPERTINO, California: In a move aimed at disrupting the fintech sector dominated by Affirm Holdings and Sweden's Klarna, this week ...
BURBANK, California: Walt Disney has begun its planned lay off of 7,000 staff, which was announced earlier this year.A letter ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: A study published this week reported that China spent $240 billion between 2008 and 2021 ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks posted a decent rally on Thursday with all the major indices making good ...
FREMONT, California: Neuralink, Elon Musk's brain implant company, has approached the Barrow Neurological Institute, one of the largest US neurosurgery ...