Preliminary EF-2 tornado damages homes and school in Chile, leaving over 7,000 without power
A preliminary EF-2 tornado struck Requínoa in Chile’s O’Higgins Region on Monday (26 October). Chile’s disaster agency declared a red alert as authorities assessed the damage.
CHILE: A tornado struck Requínoa in central Chile’s O’Higgins Region on Monday afternoon (26 October 2026), damaging at least 20 homes and a school, disrupting electricity supplies and prompting authorities to issue a red alert.
The tornado was reported at around 5.30pm local time between Requínoa and the neighbouring town of Rengo, according to Rio Times Online.
Videos shared on social media showed the phenomenon, which could also be seen from Route 5 South, a major highway in Chile.
Chile’s Meteorological Directorate (Dirección Meteorológica de Chile, DMC) preliminarily classified the tornado as EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, estimating wind speeds of between 179km/h and 218km/h.
The classification remains preliminary and could be revised as authorities continue assessing the damage.
Homes and school damaged
Chile’s National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred) reported that at least 20 homes and one school had been damaged. The figures were preliminary and remained under evaluation.
Senapred declared a red alert for Requínoa as authorities responded to the incident.
More than 7,000 electricity customers were reported to have lost power.
Electricity distributor CGE also reported outages in the area, although a direct link between the outages and the tornado had not been confirmed in the initial reports.
No injuries had been reported as of 26 October.
Tornado reportedly lasted around 15 minutes
According to BioBioChile, the phenomenon attracted widespread attention on social media because of its apparent size, with footage showing it from Route 5 South.
Listeners who contacted the radio station described the event as “impactful” and estimated that it lasted around 15 minutes.
The tornado occurred amid rain and thunderstorms across central Chile.
What an EF-2 rating means
The Enhanced Fujita scale classifies tornadoes from EF-0 to EF-5 according to the damage they cause, with higher ratings indicating more severe damage.
An EF-2 tornado is associated with estimated wind speeds of 179km/h to 218km/h and is generally classified as causing considerable damage.
Because the DMC’s assessment of the Requínoa tornado is preliminary, the final rating and wind-speed estimates may change as further information becomes available.
