A police officer walks near debris from damage caused by a heavy storm along the coastline in Vina del Mar August 8, 2015 (Photo: Reuters)
At least five people were killed and more than a thousand forced to flee their homes as powerful rain storms lashed central and northern Chile, authorities said Sunday.
Three of the dead were killed in a mudslide unleashed by heavy rains in Tocopilla in the northern region of Antofagasta, the National Emergency Office said.
It said about 800 people were evacuated from the seaside town after houses were damaged and electric power and water supplies were cut by the storm.
Nationally, the number of people forced to leave their homes totalled 1,100, the National Emergency Office said.
Two other people died in the region of Valparaiso where storm surges damaged houses and businesses near the shore, and inundated a train line linking the city of Valparaiso to Vina del Mar.
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