Parts of Chilean Patagonia covered by nine feet of snow; 6.500 feared isolated

Source: Mercopress

Thursday, July 21st 2011 - 10:04 UTC
Parts of Chilean Patagonia covered by nine feet of snow; 6.500 feared isolated

President Sebastián Piñera declared much of La Araucania in Chilean Patagonia, disaster areas on Wednesday, as four days of non-stop snowfall have isolated the region’s predominantly rural communities and wreaked havoc on basic utilities.

“The government has resolved to help those affected, especially those living in Lonquimay,” Piñera said on Wednesday. “We declare the zone a disaster area in order to give us greater tools to help our fellow Chileans.”

Lonquimay, the borough with the second most extensive area in Chile, was affected by a polar front that submerged the town of just over 10,000 into chaos.

Intermittent since Sunday, the snowfall has piled as high as nine feet in some areas. Although this part of the country is no stranger to the cold weather, Piñera described the current polar front as the worst the region has seen in 30 years.



Read more: http://en.mercopress.com/2011/07/21/parts-of-chilean-patagonia-covered-by-nine-feet-of-snow-6.500-feared-isolated

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http://i2.cdn.turner.com.nyud.net:8090/cnn/2011/images/07/21/t1larg.chile.snow.afp.gi.jpg

A man walks along a snow-covered road in Lonquimay, Chile, about 370 miles (600 kilometers) south of Santiago.

Snow disaster: Chilean officials have declared a "catastrophe" in eight municipalities after heavy snow blanketed communities and blocked roads in what the nation's interior minister called a "white earthquake." And more snow is expected.

"It has snowed more than ever," Curacautin Mayor Jorge Saquel told CNN Chile. "This is an anomaly. ... This worries us because the meteorologists assure us that new snowstorms are coming."

In the city of Lonquimay, officials said snow had piled more than 2.3 meters (7.5 feet) high.

Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter on Wednesday called the situation a "white earthquake" and asked the country's military and public works officials to help citizens in some of the hardest-hit areas in the country's central Araucania region.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/21/on-the-radar-snow-in-chile-15-missing-boaters-nfl-labor-talks/

...... that it's winter on that end of the globe.

I live on the MS Gulf Coast, and snow is rarely seen here. When it does come, it usually melts when it hits the ground.

Mixed freezing rain, sleet and snow. From Shreveport to Dothan.

But there is damned sure climate disruption/change.

That's Rick Perry's plan for everything down in Texas.

Bachmann's abnormal head instead of her #$@#%^ &*^%$.

due to climate change there will be more moisture in the air so these freak snowfalls are exactly what they said could happen...However, as soon as flurries begin to fall the Climate Deniers say, "See, climate change is a HOAX!" Oh well...Who knows what it will take to get people's attention.

...are going to require the participation of the whole planet to solve. Things such as the exploitation of space, climate volatility (whether or not it's caused by people) nuclear waste disposal, etc are never going to be adequately addressed until there is a one world government with representation from the planet's entire population. That means one common language, one common currency and a secular, pragmatic world view that eschews any organized religion. Until adherence to Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and any sort of belief system predicated on the intercession of some supernatural entity or 'spirit' to effect positive change in our Newtonian-based physical reality is relegated to the status of membership in the Kiwanis or the Elks, we as a PLANET are not going to get anywhere close to solving the big challenges.

I don't see it anywhere close to happening any time soon; certainly not in my lifetime. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go buy a lottery ticket and sacrifice a young bull to Zeus so that I might pick the winning numbers.

:hi:

are flying and trucking in medicines and food supplies, expecially hay for campesion farm animals.

Pinera visiting zone today, distracting attention from breaking major scandal in Santiago (tapping of opposition leaders' phones, monitoring of their Twitter, Facebook accounts).

Also some high school students are on a hunger strike in Buin, a small town south of Santiago to protest Pinera's privatization of public education.

Here is a photo gallery from emol (El Mercurio online) with photos of the snow in the IX Region. (Chile is divided into regions, from north to south.)

http://www.emol.com/mundografico/?G_ID=19046

Haven't seen any word of their own wiretapping, internet privacy violations. Isn't it creepy Pinera's following in the footsteps of ultra-right Colombian President Uribe, and rightest Panamanian President Martinelli's attempt to spy on his opposition?

I hope Chileans are wishing now they'd chosen the great leftist President who ran against him. Jeez.

Thanks for the information on this new situation facing Pinera. :hi:

It is an ox yoked to an oxcart. Those critters tend to be really large and powerful. Campesinos in the south of Chile still use them to work the fields. Guess you don't have oxen pulling oxcarts up there where you live. :-)

The wire-tapping scandal is still breaking and there are 24 "penguins" on a hunger strike in a town south of Santiago. ("Penguins" are what Chileans call middle and high school students.)

Pinera appointed a new minister of energy on Monday. He lasted three days, resigned yesterday (Thursday) because of a "conflict of interest." Turns out he has a construction company that provides electricity to housing units.

Things are not going well for Pinera, and he is only 16 months into his presidency.