(Wine-Searcher) - Three years' rain falls in three days, causing chaos during harvest.

Chile has declared a state of emergency after freak rains brought devastation to the north of the country, killing at least nine people and causing extensive infrastructure damage.

In the Elqui Valley, Chile's northernmost wine region, the unexpected March deluge played havoc with vineyard access mid-harvest, but it also brought hope for growers who have endured a lengthy drought.

Until this week, Elqui, which lies around 460km (286 miles) north of Santiago, had received just 45mm (1.77 inches) of rain over the past three years – now the region has seen falls of 30mm in just three days.

At Viña Falernia, the region's only major winery, white varieties have already been harvested along with the thin-skinned red variety Pinot Noir. Co-owner and winemaker Giorgio Flessati told Wine Searcher: "We were lucky because we picked our Pinot Noir 10 days ago." However, the other red varieties are still on the vine.

The immediate problem is that the closest town to the winery, Vicuña, has suffered extensive flooding, and access to the vineyards is impossible as roads have been cut off by the deluge of water falling on to bone-dry soils. Flessati explained that this represents a logistical nightmare.

In the Limarí Valley, 80km to the south, the situation is rather different, with heavy rain being treated as a huge relief after seven years of drought. March rainfall last occurred in the area in 1997.

René Merino, proprietor of Viña Tamaya in Limarí, has described this week’s rainfall as a "real blessing for the whole valley".

Both Tamaya and nearby Tabalí had to call a temporary halt to harvesting of Syrah, for which the valley is renowned.