Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Torrential rain over the weekend in Chile has prompted mudslides into the Maipo river

Rainstorms and landslides in Chile have contaminated a major river forcing the authorities to cut off drinking water to at least four million people in the capital, Santiago.

Officials said the water supply from the Maipo river would be cut to most of the city until the water flowed clear.

At least three people have been killed and 19 are missing as rivers overflowed and bridges were washed away.

Almost 400 people have been cut off in the Cajon del Maipo mountainous area.

"Emergency teams are working on the ground to connect with isolated persons and re-establish the water supply wherever possible," Chilean President Michelle Bachelet wrote on Twitter [in Spanish].

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Roads were cut off by rockslides

Image copyright EPA Image caption Heavy machinery is being used to remove the debris

Image copyright AP Image caption Some homes were filled with sludge as rivers overflowed

Aguas Andinas, which provides the capital with drinking water, said continuing rain was making repairs difficult. The company said it did not know yet when the water supply could be restored.

Regional governor Claudio Orrego said weather conditions in the mountains near Santiago remained "very bad".

"We had many landslides in a very short space of time," he said.

A 12-year-old girl was killed when the car she was travelling in with her family was swept away by a landslide in the O'Higgins region, south of Santiago.

Two more people died in Cajon del Maipo.

Mr Orrego said the heavy rains which had fallen since Saturday were "absolutely anomalous" for the summer period.

Stocking up

More than 60% of households in Santiago woke up on Sunday to find their taps running dry.

Many queued to fill buckets and pans with water provided by the authorities.

Image copyright AFP Image caption People rushed to stores to stock up on bottled water

Image copyright AFP Image caption Others filled whatever containers they had at tanks provided for residents who have been cut off

Some shops ran out of bottled water and a number of supermarkets reported scuffles between people eager to stock up.

Restaurants and businesses in the affected areas were ordered to stay closed and schools were also told to delay the start of the school year, scheduled for Monday.

The flooding follows months of drought and a series of deadly wildfires which burned for weeks.

Are you affected by the water cuts? How are you dealing with the situation? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your experiences.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:</s>Massive floods and landslides in central Chile have led to the deaths of at least four people and disruption of drinking water supply to around four million people in capital Santiago. The floods have also cut off several areas.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet wrote on Twitter that emergency teams were working to reach marooned people and restore the water supply.

Agence France Presse reported that torrential rain battered the South American country on Saturday (25 February), causing mudslides that contaminated the Maipo River, the primary drinking water source for most homes in the capital. The contamination prompted civic authorities to cut drinking water supply leaving thousands of families without water.

"We are talking about 1.45 million homes that are going to be affected by the cutting off of the water supply, which will be total or partial in 30 districts of Santiago," the region's governor Claudio Orrego told a news conference. He explained that the water outage will affect more than 60% of the capital city's 6.5 million population — about 3.9 million people.

He added: "We still do not know when the drinking water will be turned back on. We cannot guarantee resumption of the service until the River Maipo clears up."

Authorities have ordered restaurants and businesses without drinking water to stay closed. Schools have also been asked to remain shut.

The interior ministry confirmed the deaths of four people and said six others were missing due to the rain. They added that 3,300 people were cut off overall by the floods.

A rainstorm also hit near the Maipo River in the countryside east of Santiago. Governor Vanessa Marimon of Cordillera province said the gushing water from the river swept away bridges and left 1,200 people cut off in the area.

The northern Antofagasta region and the tourist district of San Pedro de Atacama were also affected by the floods following heavy rain.

According to Reuters, this is the second major flooding event that has battered central Chile in the past year. Similar torrential rain and floods hit San Jose de Maipo valley in April 2016, killing one and shutting production at some of the largest copper mines in the country.</s>Rainstorms and landslides in Chile have contaminated a major river forcing the authorities to cut off drinking water to four million people in the capital, Santiago.

Officials said the water supply from the Maipo river would be cut to most of the city until the water flowed clear.

People stocked up on bottled water and the authorities ordered restaurants and businesses to remain closed.

Officials also postponed the start of the school term on Monday.

Emergency personnel said the water rushing down from the Andes had also cut roads and isolated thousands of people.

The regional governor of Santiago, Claudio Orrego, said ” We are talking about 1.45 million homes that are going to be affected by the cutting off of the water supply, which will be total or partial in 30 districts.”

“We still do not know when the drinking water will be turned back on,”

“We cannot guarantee resumption of the service until the River Maipo clears up.”

They said the return of water services would depend on weather conditions and storms over the mountains causing heavy rain.

At least four people are known to have died in the floods.

Chile’s central region has had months of drought and a series of deadly wildfires which burned for weeks.</s>Millions of people are without water after heavy rains struck Chile over the weekend during the country’s usually dry summer months, leaving three people dead and at least 19 missing.

The rains, which caused rivers to overflow their banks in mountain valleys near Chile’s capital, Santiago, had isolated 373 people, the Onemi emergency service said late on Sunday.

The drinking-water supply for over a million households in Santiago had been affected, and Aguas Andinas, the company that provides water to the capital, said rains were making repairs difficult. Agence France-Presse estimated four million people were affected.

“Emergency teams are working on the ground to connect with isolated persons and re-establish the water supply wherever possible,” Chilean president Michelle Bachelet wrote on Twitter.

In the O’Higgins region, south of Santiago, a 12-year-old girl was killed when a landslide swept away the car in which she was travelling.

In the San Jose de Maipo valley, directly above the city, emergency crews had to clear the roads of debris before residents could evacuate to lower, less mountainous ground.

It was the second major flooding event to hit central Chile in the past year. Last April, heavy rains battered the San Jose de Maipo valley, killing one and shutting production at some of the largest copper mines in the world.

Mining giants Antofagasta, state-owned Codelco , and Anglo American have sizeable deposits in the zone affected by this weekend’s rains.

All three said production had not been affected.</s>Rainstorms and landslides in Chile killed four and contaminated a major river, forcing authorities to cut off drinking water to 4 million people in the capital, authorities said.

The torrential rain that started Saturday prompted mudslides and rubble to surge into the Maipo river, which supplies most homes in the capital.

“We are talking about 1.45 million homes that are going to be affected by the cutting off of the water supply, which will be total or partial in 30 districts” of Santiago, the region’s governor, Claudio Orrego, told a news conference.

He said the cut would therefore affect more than 60 percent of the city’s 6.5 million-strong population — about 3.9 million people.

The move prompted many people to go out with buckets and pans to collect water at emergency water taps made available by the authorities.

Others rushed to supermarkets to bag bottles of water from the shelves.

“We still do not know when the drinking water will be turned back on,” Orrego said.

“We cannot guarantee resumption of the service until the River Maipo clears up.”

Authorities ordered restaurants and businesses without drinking water to stay closed.

They also postponed the start of lessons for the new school term on Monday.

The interior ministry said four people were known to have died and six were missing due to the rain.

A rainstorm hit near the river in the countryside east of Santiago.

“The force of nature swept away bridges and left 1,200 people cut off” in Cordillera province, said the area’s governor Vanessa Marimon.

The ministry said 3,300 people were cut off overall by floods.

Heavy rain also caused flooding in the northern Antofagasta region and in the tourist district of San Pedro de Atacama.</s>PHOTOS: Wild Weather In Chile Leaves Millions Without Access To Running Water

Millions of people in Chile are scrambling to find alternative sources of drinking water after authorities cut off service to the capital, Santiago, following torrential rains that contaminated the water supply.

At least three people are dead and 19 others missing after the heavy storms. The waters have isolated another 830 people in mountainous surrounding areas, according to the country's national emergency office, Onemi. The majority of those stranded are in the O'Higgins region, south of Santiago.

"Emergency teams are working on the ground to connect the isolated people and restore the water supply wherever possible," Chilean President Michelle Bachelet wrote on Twitter.

The supply was compromised because heavy rains "triggered mud and landslides that sent debris flowing into parts of the river system, including the main waterway that supplies most of the homes in Santiago," as NPR's Philip Reeves reports.

The governor says some 4 million people have been impacted, according to Philip.

"Reports say many people armed with buckets and pans are collecting water from emergency taps on the streets," he says. "Bottles of water are selling fast in shops and supermarkets, and some businesses and restaurants have had to close until the drinking water supply's switched back on."

Scuffles were reported at some supermarkets between people trying to buy bottled water, the BBC reports.

It's not clear how long the water supply will be off — the capital's water provider, Aguas Andinas, says the continuing rain was hampering repair efforts, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, photos from Santiago and surrounding areas show swollen rivers and sludge flooding into people's homes.

This is happening during the summer months in Chile. Regional Gov. Claudio Orrego told the BBC that the heavy rains are "absolutely anomalous" for this time of year. The broadcaster adds that the flooding follows "months of drought and a series of deadly wildfires which burned for weeks."</s>Three people are dead and 19 others are missing after heavy rains struck Chile over the weekend during the country's usually dry summer months, causing mudslides and water outages in the South American nation.

The rains, which caused rivers to overflow their banks in mountain valleys near Chile's capital, Santiago, have isolated 373 people, the Onemi emergency service said late on Sunday.

The drinking-water supply for over a million households in Santiago has been affected, and Aguas Andinas, the company that provides water to the capital, said rains were making repairs difficult.</s>SANTIAGO: The Chilean authorities worked on Monday (Feb 27) to restore water to some 4.5 million people in the capital Santiago, whose supply had to be cut after deadly floods contaminated a major river.

Three people died in the torrential rains and landslides that hit central Chile over the weekend, emergency officials meanwhile said, revising an initial death toll of four. Nineteen people remain missing, they added.

Production of potable water had been "partially" restarted Monday morning, said Aguas Andinas, the private company responsible for most of Santiago's water supply.

"We'll be restoring potable water service slowly and gradually, starting first thing in the morning and continuing throughout the day," client service manager Eugenio Rodriguez said in a statement.

The storms started Saturday, sending mudslides and rubble surging into the Maipo river, which supplies most homes in the capital of 6.5 million people.

The decision to cut off the water supply prompted many people to go out with buckets and pans to collect water at some 200 emergency taps opened by the authorities.

Others rushed to supermarkets to stockpile bottled water.

Classes in affected schools have been cancelled.</s>SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - Hundreds of thousands of homes in communities around the Chilean capital remain without water as authorities struggle to restore service following floods caused by Andean rainfall. There are three confirmed deaths and 19 people reported missing in the flooding.

More than half of the communities in the greater Santiago area and as many as 5 million people nationwide were affected by the weekend flooding as rocks and other debris choked the intakes for urban water systems.

The Aguas Andinas water company said Monday that service had been restored to about 50 percent of the homes and businesses that suffered cuts. Authorities over the weekend said service was cut to as many as 1.4 million homes in and around Santiago starting Saturday.</s>People stocked up on bottled water and the authorities ordered restaurants and businesses to remain closed.

Officials also postponed the start of the school term on Monday.

Emergency personnel said the water rushing down from the Andes had also cut roads and isolated thousands of people.

The regional governor of Santiago, Claudio Orrego, said: "We are talking about 1.45 million homes that are going to be affected by the cutting off of the water supply, which will be total or partial in 30 districts."

"We still do not know when the drinking water will be turned back on. We cannot guarantee resumption of the service until the River Maipo clears up."

They said the return of water services would depend on weather conditions and storms over the mountains causing heavy rain.

At least four people are known to have died in the floods.

Chile's central region has had months of drought and a series of deadly wildfires which burned for weeks.
Millions of residents in the Chilean capital Santiago are left without access to running water after the Maipo River is contaminated by flooding and landslides. At least four people have died in the floods.