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More than 370,000 affected by severe flooding in Peru

Countries
Peru
Sources
IFRC
Publication date
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Situation Analysis

Description of the disaster:

There has been nationwide flooding in Peru, which has affected 376,562 people, left 46,384 homeless, damaged 81,263 dwellings, rendered 5,541 dwellings uninhabitable and caused 4,393 dwellings to collapse throughout the country, according to INDECI’s National Emergency Operations Centre (COEN for its acronym in Spanish)’s report from 21 February 2017. Currently, strong rainfall and electrical storms are being registered in the departments of Huánuco, Pasco, Junín, Ucayali and Cusco (La Convención).

Similarly, moderate to strong rainfall and lightning are being recorded in the provinces of Sullana, Talara, Paita and Piura in the department of Piura; however, the intensity of the storm activity’s intensity has begun to diminish.

On 1 to 2 February 2017, there was heavy rainfall (115 litres per meter2) for approximately 14 consecutive hours in the Province of Chiclayo, which produced a total of 510,000 cubic meters of rainfall. The magnitude of the rainfall can only be compared to that caused by the El Niño phenomenon on 14 February 1998 . The intense rains have affected a total of 32 districts in the provinces of Lambayeque, Ferreñafe and Chiclayo, causing outages in electrical service and the water system and many sections of the sewer system to collapse; moreover, the collection of solid waste has been halted, causing contamination and the appearance of vectors in the areas most affected by the flooding.

Due to the intense rainfall, an increase in the volume and flow of the La Leche River was registered on 3 February 2017, flooding houses and roads. The National Police reported that after the river overflowed, an inter-provincial bus rolled over at the District of Mórrope toll post.

More than 12,000 houses in the department of Lambayeque have been affected due to their construction style, which by and large were adobe (mud with straw) or due to the partial infiltration of water in houses built with more solid construction materials (concrete, cement and brick). Families have been forced to take refuge in the homes of relatives and rescue the few belongings that remain; other families are living outdoors as they do not have anywhere to take refuge. To date, no deaths nor disappearances have been reported.

By means of Supreme Decree # 011-2017-PCM in the departments of Tumbes, Piura and Lambayeque, which is valid for 6 calendar days, the Peruvian government declared a state of emergency due to the intense rainfall; this allowed for the implementation of immediate and necessary actions, response measures and the corresponding rehabilitation.

Through the Joint Command, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Defence staff at the emergency operations centres (EOCs) are currently coordinating the sub-regional offices with the goal of carrying out response actions. The head of the Provincial Municipality of Lambayeque’s Civil Defence Office reported that the inhabitants of the impacted dwellings and members of the Peruvian Army are continuing to clean and remove water from the affected houses and roads in the districts of Pacora, Jayanca, Illimo, Mochumi and Túcume. In addition, the Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (DANA) is ongoing in the affected districts.
On 4 February 2017, staff from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ EOC reported that flooding caused a partial collapse of the Pan-American Highway North section of Lambayeque – Piura (sector km 835); repairs are still being carried out.