In an unprecedented move, the Chilean government has declared a curfew and a state of emergency following a sweeping power outage that left large portions of the country, including the capital Santiago, without electricity on Tuesday. The blackout began in the afternoon and has impacted approximately eight million households, stretching from the northern city of Arica to Los Lagos in the southern regions.
The outage caused substantial disruption, leading to non-functional traffic lights, people stranded in elevators, and a complete halt of the subway system in Santiago. In response to the crisis, authorities announced a curfew set to take place from 10 PM to 6 AM in areas severely affected by the blackout. Additionally, schools in those regions will be closed the following day, affecting around 300,000 students.
President Gabriel Boric addressed the nation in a news conference, acknowledging the day as "difficult for millions of countrymen." By late Tuesday, power had been restored to nearly half of the affected households, yet Boric warned that the recovery process remained slow and unstable, indicating that the situation was still precarious. He criticized the country's power companies for their failure to prevent the outage and their delayed response in restoring electricity, calling their actions "outrageous."
The state has increased its security presence across affected regions, deploying soldiers and national police officers, while helicopters monitored the situation from above Santiago. Meanwhile, emergency services, hospitals, prisons, and airports are relying on backup power systems and generators as the crisis unfolds, as reported by the national disaster agency.
As millions await the restoration of regular power services and the curfew takes effect, the nation remains in a state of alert, tracking the recovery efforts in real-time.
