Devastating rainfall and overflowing rivers have continued to wreak havoc in Peru, causing avalanches, mudslides, and extensive flash flooding. Forecasters predicted still more rain ahead, prolonging the country's woes.
Extreme weather conditions have claimed the lives of 75 people so far. The country's armed forces have been deployed to maintain public order throughout the 811 cities that have declared a state of emergency. Aid workers will look to help those whose homes have been destroyed and are now left without a place to go.
Huampani Alto resident Luisa Sambrano said, “We don't have food. Children have been without bread for 15 days now. There's no water. We can't go to work, nor can the young people go and study. We are isolated. Huampani Alto is always the most abandoned town.”
Peru's government says 374 people were killed in 1998 during a similar period of floods caused by rains due to the El Nino climate pattern, and over 70,000 people were left homeless.
