Flash floods left buses and cars stuck in mud in Santiago on Thursday (October 8), damaging vehicles and property in the Las Condes district.

Buses and cars were seen submerged in mud, police officers walking across stranded vehicles, and streets littered with debris and rocks.

The flood swept away cars and public buses and inundated homes, clinics and schools, hitting the district in the Andean foothills as a storm front moved over the Santiago Metropolitan Region.

Chile’s disaster agency, Senapred, said heavy rain caused the flooding, with water filling creeks and mountain ravines that normally stay dry and fill quickly during downpours.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SANTIAGO, CHILE (OCTOBER 8, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF BUSES STUCK IN MUD

2. VARIOUS OF VEHICLES STRUCK IN FLOODED AREA

3. VARIOUS OF POLICE OFFICER COMING OUT OF FLOODED AREA CLIMBING A FENCE

4. CARS STUCK IN MUD

5. VARIOUS OF POLICE OFFICERS WALKING ON VEHICLES STUCK IN MUD

6. DEBRIS IN STREET

7. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AND POLICE WALKING IN DISASTER AREA

8. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEE ESTEFANI RUIZ, SAYING:

"It was impressive because it happened all of a sudden. We knew a frontal system was coming these days, but no one saw the intensity of the rains coming, and no one expected something like this in the area—even though we know we're in the foothills."

9. FLOODED STREET AND DEBRIS

10. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING IN FLOODED STREET

11. DEBRIS AND ROCKS IN STREET

12. PEOPLE WALKING IN FLOODED STREET

13. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNIVERSITY STUDENT, CLAUS, SAYING:

"I went to help my friends, and the university was asking people not to leave because it was very dangerous. The university is still full of students. They don't know what to do, and it's hard for them to leave under these conditions."

14. FIRE TRUCK AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAMS

15. VARIOUS OF POLICE VEHICLES AND OFFICIALS