Heavy rains flooded parts of Santiago, the capital of Chile, on Thursday, October 8 (October 16). These floods swept away cars and buses and submerged houses, clinics and schools.

Heavy rains flooded parts of Santiago, the capital of Chile, on Thursday, October 8 (October 16). These floods swept away cars and buses and submerged houses, clinics and schools.

Chile's Crisis Management Organization warned of the possibility of further mudslides in the mountainous areas in and around Santiago. This institution, in declaring a state of emergency, asked the equipped rescue forces to prepare for a possible evacuation operation.

Chile is in the spring season of the Southern Hemisphere and the El Niño phenomenon is strengthening in the Pacific Ocean.

The El Nino phenomenon occurs when, due to the abnormal warming of the waters of the Pacific Ocean, the weather patterns in the world change and may cause heavy rains and floods, droughts, heat waves and fires in different parts of the world. The World Meteorological Organization announced Thursday that El Niño is expected to peak in December and may be among the strongest events recorded since 1950.