Mudslides in Tocopilla, in Chile’s Antofagasta region, on Tuesday (August 18), triggered evacuations and the declaration of a state of catastrophe in the area.

Tocopilla is one of the municipalities hardest hit by the intense rainfall, which has left streets completely flooded and damaged, with vehicles carried away by the rushing waters.

“Due to the serious effects of the storm in Tocopilla, I have decided to decree a constitutional state of catastrophe exception for the province of Tocopilla and to make available all human and material resources that will allow us to confront this emergency,” Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast posted on X on Tuesday.

Chile’s National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred) declared a Red Alert on Tuesday for the municipalities of Antofagasta, Taltal, Mejillones and Tocopilla due to the weather event.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

1. CARS DAMAGED AND DISPLACED BY LANDSLIDE

2. VARIOUS OF POLICE AND CIVILIANS EVACUATING

3. PEOPLE WALKING OVER VEHICLES DISPLACED BY LANDSLIDE

4. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE, VEHICLES ON CITY STREETS FLOODED BY LANDSLIDE

5. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) TOCOPILLA RESIDENT AND HOUSEWIFE, NO NAME GIVEN, SAYING:

"I, when I heard a noise, I was cooking, I head a noise and I went out to look and the pick-up trucks, the cars, were running downhill in the mud. It was terrible, terrible."

6. PEOPLE CROSSING AVENUE WITH TORRENT OF WATER FROM LANDSLIDE

7. VARIOUS OF CHILEAN OFFICERS REMOVING MUD, EVACUATING PEOPLE

8. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CARABINERO IN RESCUE WORK, NO NAME GIVEN, SAYING:

"At this moment there was a very strong current, people had family members in their homes and we couldn't get there. So, we focused on moving those people, so that they could cross the street and reach their homes. The damage, as you can see, was some 8 vehicles and due to the mud falling from the landslide, they got stuck there."

9. RESIDENTS REMOVING MUD

10. EMERGENCY VEHICLE ARRIVING

11. CITY FLOODED BY LANDSLIDE

12. RESIDENTS REMOVING MUD

13. CITY FLOODED BY LANDSLIDE

ANTOFAGASTA, ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE (AUGUST 18, 2026) (TVN - No use Chile / No use CNN / No use Chile websites)

14. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNDERSECRETARY OF INTERIOR, MAXIMO PAVEZ, SAYING:

"In a very short time, in very few hours, very significant mass movements occurred in the city of Tocopilla, which generated a great level of impact in the city. The event has not yet been overcome, it is in development and due to the great level of impact that this situation has generated, the President of the Republic (Jose Antonio Kast) has determined to decree the constitutional State of Exception of catastrophe, due to public calamity, in the province."

INTERNET (AUGUST 18, 2026) (SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITE - Access all) (MUTE)

15. POST ON X BY CHILEAN PRESIDENT, JOSE ANTONIO KAST, READING (Spanish):

"Due to the serious effects of the storm in Tocopilla, I have decided to decree a constitutional state of catastrophe exception for the province of Tocopilla and to make available all human and material resources that will allow us to confront this emergency. The Undersecretary of the Interior, Maximo Pavez, has been in the region since last night and a Chief of National Defence will soon take over to coordinate the forces in the zone."

PUERTO VIEJO, ATACAMA, CHILE (AUGUST 18, 2026) (TVN - No use Chile / No use CNN / No use Chile websites)

16. VARIOUS OF INTERIOR OF FLOODED SCHOOL

17. VARIOUS OF HOUSES IN DANGER OF COLLAPSING

18. VEHICLES TRAPPED IN MUD

19. VARIOUS OF PERSON REMOVING MUD NEAR STUCK VEHICLE

20. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PUERTO VIEJO RESIDENT AFFECTED BY LANDSLIDE, NO NAME GIVEN, SAYING:

"We had already made a defence (to hold back water) because we thought it was going to work, but it was overcome and here is the result."

21. VARIOUS OF VOLUNTEERS CARRYING OUT CLEAN-UP WORK IN COMMUNITY AFFECTED BY LANDSLIDE

22. (MUTE) DRONE SHOT OVER HIGHWAY AFFECTED BY LANDSLIDE