Chilean municipalities implement infrastructure and monitoring to prevent mudslides
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Several municipalities in the Santiago Metropolitan Region of Chile are adopting new infrastructure and monitoring measures to prevent mudslides following a major landslide in Las Condes.
The municipality of Lo Barnechea, led by mayor Felipe Alessandri, maintains dynamic meshes and platforms to contain mud and stones in its ravines. These structures were installed after a 2021 landslide and require ongoing maintenance.
The local government spends 28,000 UF annually on cleaning and maintaining riverbeds, with an additional 4,000 UF for maintaining drains and removing sediment. The municipality also uses drones and heavy machinery to monitor critical points in the Huallalolén, Ñilhue, and Seca ravines. In La Reina, mayor José Manuel Palacios implemented a plan that includes cleaning drains and using drones and water flow sensors to monitor the Quebrada de San Ramón.
The municipality also distributed sandbags and nylon, performed preventive pruning, and established an evacuation plan for areas affected by a 1993 landslide. This plan includes the creation of an SMS alert system, emergency signage, and educational videos. The municipality of Peñalolén, led by Miguel Concha, uses infrastructure built after the 1993 landslide in the Quebrada de Macul.
This includes seven settling basins with a capacity of 450,000 cubic meters, which the Ministry of Housing identified as one of the only high-risk areas with active control works. In La Florida, mayor Daniel Reyes uses a prevention strategy that includes monitoring the Macul and Santa Sofía de Lo Cañas ravines and maintaining settling basins. The municipality updated its local risk study to last until September 2026.
