Southern Chile buried under as much as 2 meters of snow

July 20, 2011 – CHILE – Araucania Region, Chile (Reuters) Heavy snow storms bury southern Chile in six feet of snow leaving communities isolated with blocked roads and downed power lines. A massive snowstorm dumped some six feet of snow on Chile’s Araucancia region, leaving many without power and communities completely cut off from the rest of the country. Residents of the mountainous region of the Andes were forced to dig out from massive piles of snow and television footage showed homes almost completely buried in the snow. A heavy snow season has disrupted highways and mountain passes connecting the southern Chilean region with Argentina via snowy Andes Mountain passes. “The problem is the road, that’s all. We are cut-off from everything, but they’re going to have to open it, “said one resident of the Araucania region on Monday. Emergency crews were removing snow from vital highways to allow for transportation to continue in and out of the secluded area as residents said they were also facing communication complications. “We are completely cut-off without anything. There are no cell phones and no radio,“ another resident said Local media reported that the Pino Hachado International pass connecting the Araucania region to Argentina to the east had reopened Tuesday, but local authorities said the area could still face food and supply shortages. “We are already having problems with food shortages both with livestock and people,“ area police chief Ivan Bezmalinovic said. The Pino Hachado pass was the only connection to neighboring Argentina open as of Tuesday morning. In addition to transportation and communication problems, 15,000 people were reportedly without electricity.  –Weather Network

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