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Original article: Investigador de la U. de Tarapacá advierte: «Las activaciones de quebradas serán cada vez más recurrentes y necesitamos educar a la población»

Following several days of heavy rainfall across much of Chile, experts are now analyzing the impacts and underlying causes of complications in areas where debris flows occurred, including the tragic loss of human lives and socio-economic effects on the community.

The Coquimbo and Atacama Regions were among the hardest hit, but challenges were felt throughout the central and northern parts of the country as well. This situation could recur with predictions of significant rainfall in the coming weeks and months due to the El Niño phenomenon.

«The phenomena we have witnessed due to these frontal systems demonstrate that there is still much work to be done in the area of territorial planning and space management. These consequences were also seen in 1997 in La Serena, in 2015 in Copiapó, and in 2019 in northern Chile,» stated Oliver Meseguer Ruiz, a professor at the Department of Historical and Geographical Sciences at the U. de Tarapacá.

The academic, who specializes in the analysis of climate variability, has conducted studies on fires and human exposure in urban-forest interface areas; he recalled the incidents that occurred in the summer of 2026 with fires in the Biobío Region.

«We saw how it affected an urban-forest interface area, leading to significant economic and personal losses. The same situation is occurring and has occurred with the activation of debris flows in recent days,» Meseguer, who holds a Doctorate in Geography, Territorial Planning, and Environmental Management with a focus on Natural Systems, remarked.

«Establishing urban areas where people reside in riverbeds, known as debris flows, which are mostly dry for long periods, creates a considerable risk as these can become active at any moment,» the researcher warned.

«This recurring phenomenon,» he added, «was experienced in 2019 in northern Chile; in 2015 during the floods in Copiapó; and we are going through it again now. Therefore, this is no longer just a planning issue; we are also facing a structural problem of education and collective memory because we see these phenomena occurring regularly in the context of climate change.»

These situations, he continued, «are expected to become increasingly extreme and more frequent. Thus, it is essential for all policymakers to take decisive action and declare this a priority issue.»

«In Chile, significant studies have been conducted in recent years by various institutions, and all have confirmed the same problem. However, there has been little to no progress in addressing this issue,» emphasized the U. de Tarapacá academic.

We will continue to provide updates.

La entrada U. de Tarapacá Researcher Warns: «Increased Activations of Debris Flows Are Inevitable, and We Must Educate the Population» se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.