Wildfires add to Chile’s climate change woes

The wildfires raging through south-central Chile will leave a major reconstruction bill that not only underscores the increasing extreme weather events, but also the vulnerabilities of the country's infrastructure.

As of Monday morning, 26 people had died and 279,154 hectares had been consumed by the fires, according to disaster prevention and response agency Senapred. The most affected regions are Maule, Ñuble, Biobío and Araucanía.

In addition, 1,159 houses have been destroyed alongside two health centers. Meanwhile, 42 rural potable water systems and 276 telecom antennas had been reported as damaged. There have been no reports of damages to highways in the affected regions.

Firefighters were trying to extinguish 69 forest fires, while an additional 161 were “under control,” 49 were “under observation” and two were “advancing,” according to Senapred. Extreme hot weather conditions were expected to continue in the regions. 

President Gabriel Boric has said reconstruction will be one of his administration's priorities going forward. 

Back in 2017, a series of similar wildfires left 11 dead and 420,000 hectares lost. British-American insurance firm AON estimated that total damages then added up to about US$870mn.

A source at insurers association AACH told BNamericas that it is still too early to estimate the total cost of the current wildfires.

In addition to the record-breaking temperatures, Chile has been suffering a massive drought for 14 years that has left authorities scrambling to preserve water and develop desalination projects.

Climate change has also been signaled as the cause behind heavy precipitation episodes in which the equivalent of weeks or months of rains fall in a short period of time, resulting in floods, landslides and infrastructure damage.