Rare tornado damages buildings in southern Chile

A rare tornado struck the city of Puerto Varas in southern Chile, causing significant damage across the downtown area and surrounding neighborhoods. The tornado has been preliminarily rated as an EF-1 by Chile’s Meteorological Agency.

The phenomenon occurred Sunday at approximately 3:30 p.m. local time, with estimated wind speeds between 86 to 111 miles per hour (138 and 178 kph). According to the agency’s initial assessment, the tornado caused moderate damage, including severely damaged roofs, overturned vehicles and kiosks, broken windows, and loss of exterior doors and structural components.

Eyewitness videos captured the tornado as it moved through the city, kicking up large amounts of debris. One clip showed sections of rooftops being torn from multi-story buildings, including what appeared to be hotels in the city center.

Another video filmed inside a shop showed calm conditions abruptly disrupted by the loss of power and the sudden onset of violent winds, sending debris flying as the tornado passed.

Aftermath footage showed widespread damage across a large area of the city, including collapsed or heavily damaged roofs in downtown Puerto Varas. One video showed extensive damage inside a supermarket, with shelves toppled and goods scattered. Another clip showed what appeared to be a nearly destroyed home.

It remains unclear whether there were any casualties as a result of the tornado. Authorities have not yet released information on injuries or fatalities.

Tornadoes are very rare in Chile, a country where the Andes Mountains and coastal topography typically prevent the kind of atmospheric instability common in tornado-prone regions like the central United States.

In 2019, a damaging tornado struck the city of Los Ángeles in the Bío Bío region, injuring dozens and damaging hundreds of homes. A separate tornado hit the town of Chillán the following day. Those events were considered highly unusual and marked the first documented tornado outbreak of such intensity in the country in recent memory.