Governor of Biobío warns of lack of state of catastrophe and calls for evacuation in case of fires
The governor of Biobío, Sergio Giacaman, accused that the state of catastrophe has not yet been signedwhich – as he explained – does not prevent the deployment of emergency resources, but it does limit the adoption of exceptional measures. “The information that the Presidential Delegation team gave us is that it is not signed, and that inhibits, for example, decreeing a curfew, which is urgent,” he said in an interview with T13, alluding to the problems of congestion and disorder registered in areas affected by the fires.
In this context, the regional authority highlighted the operation of the SAE alert system, although it warned about the lack of response from the population. “The SAE system has worked very well, the problem is that it seems that people do not take it seriously,” he said, making a direct call to evacuate without delay. “If you receive an SAE emergency alert message, you must consider it and evacuate immediately, because what interests us most is protecting people’s lives,” he emphasized.
Giacaman also stressed the importance of not saturating the routes or approaching emergency areas. “You don’t have to go on disaster tourism. What you have to do is stay at home and allow the emergency teams to work,” he said, adding that situations of road chaos could only be addressed with exceptional measures such as a curfew. In addition, he reported that five shelters were set up in the commune of Penco and that the mayor requested support from the Government to ensure food for the evacuees.