Copiap - Flash floods in a normally bone-dry region of northern Chile killed six people and left 19 missing, officials said Thursday, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency and send in the army.
The downpour began late on Tuesday in the Atacama region, home to the world's most arid desert, and lashed the area for hours, turning riverbeds that had been dry for years into torrents.
Desperate residents scrambled onto the roofs of their houses or fled to high ground to escape the floodwaters, which turned the streets into rivers that swept up nearly everything in their path.