3 dead as floods cause landslides, water cuts in Chile

SANTIGO, Chile – Floods caused by Andean rainfall are causing havoc in central and northern Chile, and authorities said Sunday that at least three people had been killed and several were missing.

Emergency officials in the South American country said waters rushing down from the Andes since Saturday afternoon had caused landslides, cutting roads and isolating thousands of people. Falling rocks and other debris overwhelmed the intakes for urban water systems, cutting service to about 1.2 million homes in the area around Santiago.

National emergency Office Director Ricardo Toro said a youth died in a car that was swept away by floodwaters near Termas del Flaco in central Chile and officials in the capital region said two bodies had been recovered from a river near Santiago. Five other people were listed as missing.