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Founded in 1933, Chaiten (pronounced /tʃaɪ'tɛn/) is the name of an active Volcano in southern Andes Mountains, a district or a commune as well, and what used to be the capital city of Palena Province in Chile Patagonia since 1958.
I say it used to be it physically speaking, for this state changed in May 2008 when the old napping volcano reactivated for the first time after 9,000 years. Past May 2, about 7,000 southern Chileans got shocked with the huge view of smoke and ash covering the whole Patagonia landscape of mountains, and the sea port of their southern capital town. The eruption became more violent on May 5,throwing up a high plume of ash and sulfurous steam that rose to 19 miles, from which ashfall drifted across Patagonia, and over the Atlantic Ocean, alarming the citizens of Buenos Aires in Argentine Republic.
The town was completely flooded (see these images)on May 12, after a lahar caused the banks of the Blanco River to overflow about 200 metres on each side. Over the subsequent weeks, the river excavated a new course through Chaitén, completely destroying a significant part of it by July 2008.
More than 5,500 locals were evacuated by ferry boats and the army aircrafts to Chiloe Is. and the rural families escaped northwest to Futaleufu commune and some continued to Puerto Montt city, the Capital of the Region.
Most families left their lifetime behind and distributed in four welcoming Chilean cities: Quellon port and Castro port in Chiloe Island and Puerto Montt port and Futaleufu town.
Chaiten families have been supported with lodging ( in boarding schools and municipal facilities), schools for 1, 500 students, psicological tutoring and some government subsidies to farmers and families in general.
This sunday (October 26) many will vote for Municipal Elections in 4 different towns and they will elect a new major and 5 counselors of this enviromentally destroyed area. They all have been expecting their government final decision to rebuild their home town and services in a safer place somewhere in 3,270.7 square miles of land during these 5 months.
