Five people have reportedly been injured after a tornado swept through southern Chile and destroyed several buildings.
The tornado hit the city of Puerto Varas at around 3.30pm local time on Sunday, bringing wind speeds of 86 to 111 miles per hour, BNO News reported.
So far it’s believed that the tornado made ‘moderate damage’ to the city, including severely damaged roofs, overturned vehicles and kiosks, broken windows, and loss of doors.
According to the National Service for Disaster Prevention and Response (Senapred), as of 3.30pm local time, eight people had been reported injured and an estimated 30 homes and one supermarket damaged.
Declaring the area on red alert, it said it had picked up wind speeds of between 138 to 178 kilometres per hour.
Journalist Salvador Schwartzmann wrote in a post on X: ‘Five injured and 10,000 without power in Puerto Varas. Thirty homes destroyed, power lines and trees downed, and many roofs blown off by gusts of 170 km/h.’
In follow-up posts, he said supermarkets had been destroyed and reposted videos of cars and homes that had been wrecked in the city.
The Geoscientific Network of Chile said that the tornado was tracing a south-easterly trajectory through the city centre.
The country’s weather agency, MeteoChile said the storm posed a serious threat to life and advised those living in affected areas to avoid taking ‘unnecessary risks’.
In a weather warning published on Sunday it said: ‘Weather phenomenons of a severe grade of intensity are predicted, with a high possibility of physical risk and danger to life.’
It added: ‘Stay informed, and follow instructions issued by the authorities ad be prepared to take extraordinary measures.’
It added that the tornado and blown over many trees and damaged roofs on buildings.
Video footage of the tornado showed pieces of swirling in the wind while electricity wires were blown around.
Photos also showed severe damage to public buildings including destroyed petrol stations and struck apartments.
Nicknamed ‘The city of roses’, Puerto Varas is known as a tourist destination and for its German traditions.
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