--- description: Heavy rains in the Andes sent flash floods through Chile’s Atacama desert, leaving thousands without power or running water. title: Heavy Rains Wreak Havoc in Arid Northern Chile image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt152e5f54dbde3312/698785555f570f702ab15f11/ap922402005290.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Chile](/tag/chile/) ## Chile Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Heavy Rains Wreak Havoc in Northern Chile, One of the Driest Places on Earth ## Video: Global Risks You Should Care About Right Now [Watch (HLS stream): Global Risks You Should Care About Right Now](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PqXWqYtA.m3u8) (4:20)  _Published 2015-01-13. A yearly look ahead about what you should—and shouldn’t—worry about in the geopolitical and economic landscape for 2015_ by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 26, 2015 7:22 AM CUT  Residents watch the rising flood waters of the Copiapo River, in Copiapo, Chile, March 25, 2015 Residents watch the rising flood waters of the Copiapo River, in Copiapo, Chile, March 25, 2015Aton Chile—AP by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 26, 2015 7:22 AM CUT Heavy rains in the Andes sent [flash floods](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-32062039 "undefined") through Chile’s Atacama desert Tuesday evening, leaving thousands without power or running water. The area is normally one of the driest in the world. Overwhelmed by runoff, the river that runs through Copiapo, Atacama’s capital city, overflowed its banks with more rain predicted over the next 12 hours. Authorities, fearful of mudslides, urged locals to seek safety elsewhere. Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo advised “anyone in an at-risk zone in the Atacama region” to evacuate, the BBC reports. Northern coastal towns were hit especially hard. The government described the coastal town of Chañaral as in a “critical” state, while the Antofagasta and Coquimbo regions were affected seriously enough to warrant health alerts. Military units were deployed in Copiapo to lend assistance, and President Michelle Bachelet rearranged her schedule in order to fly to the besieged city. Along with causing widespread flooding, the rainstorms also washed out roads and disrupted communications. Local officials say 38,000 residents are without power and 48,000 are without potable water. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3759411/chile-heavy-rains-andes-atacama-desert/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3759411/chile-heavy-rains-andes-atacama-desert/"},"headline":"Heavy Rains Wreak Havoc in Northern Chile, One of the Driest Places on Earth","datePublished":"2015-03-26T07:22:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:27:22.200Z","description":"Officials order evacuation ahead of further storms","url":"https://time.com/3759411/chile-heavy-rains-andes-atacama-desert/","keywords":["Chile","weather","Disaster","Flooding"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt152e5f54dbde3312/698785555f570f702ab15f11/ap922402005290.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt152e5f54dbde3312/698785555f570f702ab15f11/ap922402005290.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Residents watch the rising flood waters of the Copiapo River, in Copiapo, Chile, March 25, 2015","caption":"Residents watch the rising flood waters of the Copiapo River, in Copiapo, Chile, March 25, 2015","creditText":"Aton Chile—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/chile/","name":"Chile"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3759411/chile-heavy-rains-andes-atacama-desert/","name":"Heavy Rains Wreak Havoc in Northern Chile, One of the Driest Places on Earth"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Global Risks You Should Care About Right Now","description":"A yearly look ahead about what you should—and shouldn’t—worry about in the geopolitical and economic landscape for 2015","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/PqXWqYtA/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-01-13T22:16:32.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PqXWqYtA.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3759411/chile-heavy-rains-andes-atacama-desert/","duration":"PT4M20S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3759411/chile-heavy-rains-andes-atacama-desert/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```