Wildfires raging across central and southern Chile on Sunday left at least 18 people dead, scorched thousands of acres of forest and destroyed hundreds of homes, authorities said, as the South American country swelters under a heat wave. Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in the country's central Biobio region and the neighbouring Nuble region, around 500 km south of Santiago, the capital. The emergency designation allows greater coordination with the military to rein in two dozen wildfires that have so far blazed through 8,500 hectares and prompted 50,000 people to evacuate, according to Chilean Security Minister Luis Cordero. All resources are available, Boric wrote on X. But local officials reported that for hours on Sunday, destruction was everywhere and help from the federal government was nowhere. Dear President Boric, from the bottom of my heart, I have been here for four hours, a community is burning and there is no (government) presence, said