A field of colorful wildflowers blankets the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, transforming the world's driest non-polar desert into a vibrant landscape during the rare flowering desert phenomenon, known locally as the Desierto Florido, or Desert Bloom. Tamara Merino for NPR hide caption

Tamara Merino for NPR

COPIAPÓ, Chile — A vast swathe of Chile's Atacama Desert is now a patchwork of pinks, yellows, lilacs and purples stretching across the craggy desert floor as far as the eye can see.

This winter, heavy rains brought by the El Niño super cycle caused flash floods in the Atacama Desert, with some areas receiving the heaviest rainfall since records began in the 1950s.

Floodwaters in July and August destroyed or damaged dozens of homes, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate.

A field of wildflowers blooms across Chile's Atacama Desert during the rare flowering phenomenon known as Desierto Florido, or Desert Bloom, triggered by unusually heavy rainfall that awakens dormant seeds.…