The March 2015 catastrophic flood event and its impacts in the city of Copiapó (southern Atacama Desert). An integrated analysis to mitigate future mudflow derived damages

Abstract

The March 2015 extraordinary hydrometeorological event in the Andes cordillera caused severe floods in the southern Atacama Desert. One of the most affected cities was Copiapó (northern Chile) located downstream of the junction between the Copiapó river and its ephemeral tributary Quebrada Paipote. This work analyses the features of this catastrophic flood and relates them with the identified impacts. A large volume of water mixed with fine sediments overflowed the tributary channel generating a flood that affected 72% of the urban area. The rheological (velocity, density and flow regime) and sedimentary features of the flow reveal the occurrence of massive mudflows that infilled the space available inside the buildings, buried the streets with a sandy mud deposit of more than 30 cm medium thickness and collapsed the sewer network. The post-event survey carried out by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning (MINVU) was used for the development of fragility curves that allows modelling the probability of damage. Results indicate that the greatest probability of building damage is generated by the accumulation of sediments instead of by the flow depth. On the other hand, once the very fine grain sediments of the top of the deposit dried up, it increased the concentration of post-event suspension particulate matter, causing a health issue. This work highlights the need to understand mudflow processes and their consequences in arid environments to improve urban planning and mitigate future damages since their impacts strongly affect infrastructures and communities.