Chile to upgrade disaster management agencies

In the aftermath of devastating forest fires and floods, Chile on Monday said it will move to modernize its disaster management agencies.

Measures to improve the National Emergency Office of the Interior Ministry (Onemi) and the National Forest Corporation (Conaf) will be priorities in the first half of the year, presidential spokesperson Paula Narvaez said.

President Michelle Bachelet has submitted a bill to lawmakers to modernize the Onemi and to create a National Forestry Service to replace the Conaf, to better deal with potential fire hazards, she said.

"It is a priority for the presidency to make progress on processing this initiative as fast as possible," the daily El Mercurio cited Narvaez as saying.

Raging forest fires earlier this month destroyed more than 400,000 hectares of forests and crops across much of Chile, and claimed more than 10 lives, while sudden floods over the weekend washed away homes and roads, killing three people and leaving 19 people missing.

The flooding has also left millions of residents in and around the capital Santiago without water since Sunday, after flood waters polluted the drinking supply, leading authorities to cut off the distribution network.

The water supply was expected to resume by 8 p.m. Monday, at least in some areas, the daily 24 Hours said.

At a public ceremony, Bachelet commented on the recent spate of natural disasters in Chile.

"I want to address the situation that our fellow nationals have undergone over the weekend, the floods that have affected thousands of nationals in the central and northern parts of the country: it seems nature won't give our country a break," Bachelet said.

Bachelet said she met with members of her cabinet earlier in the day to assess the situation. Enditem