A drone view shows Penuelas lake following a pouring rain season, in Penuelas, Valparaiso region, Chile, June 25, 2024. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows Penuelas lake following drought season, in Penuelas, Valparaiso region, Chile, April 19, 2022. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado/File Photo A drone view shows Aculeo lagoon following a pouring rain season, in Aculeo, Metropolitan region, Chile, June 25, 2024.
REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado A drone view shows Aculeo lagoon following a pouring rain season, in Aculeo, Metropolitan region, Chile, June 25, 2024. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado A drone view shows Penuelas lake following a pouring rain season, in Penuelas, Valparaiso region, Chile, June 25, 2024. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado SANTIAGO - Recent torrential rains in Chile have brought back to life - for now at least - reservoirs and lagoons that had all but dried up after years of drought, with dramatic images of cracked lake beds replaced by mirror-like still waters.
A severe years-long drought had decimated water supplies and hit local industries from mining to agriculture and bees in the Andean nation, while exacerbating tensions over water use. The Aculeo Lagoon became a symbol of the crisis, as dead cattle and fish carcasses lay on its cracked and dry surface where there had once been a huge body of water. That's now dramatically refilled.
"The water is alive," Gloria Contreras, manager of a campsite in the area, told Reuters. "With the drought of the lagoon, many jobs were lost. Bu.
