Torrential rains, landslides and floods hitting Peru have so far resulted in 100,169 victims and 627,048 affected citizens, the National Civil Defense Institute's (Indeci) latest report revealed.
Natural disasters have also claimed 75 lives, with 263 injured and 20 people still missing.
The onslaughts of nature have led to the collapse of 10,642 houses, rendering 12,126 uninhabitable and damaging 134,290.
In terms of school casualties, 25 premises collapsed, 60 were left unusable and 1,099 were damaged.
Concerning health care facilities, 8 health centers collapsed, 16 became unusable and 380 were damaged.
As for transport infrastructure, 1,909 km of highways were destroyed and 3,849 km were damaged. Likewise, 159 bridges (vehicle and footbridges) collapsed and 274 were affected. Similarly, 847 km of country roads were destroyed and 4,873 km were damaged.
Regarding the agricultural sector, 614 km of irrigation canals were destroyed and 2,905 were damaged. With respect to crops, 8,681 hectares were lost and 20,539 were affected.
The aforementioned include the following regions: Amazonas, Ancash, Apurimac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Cusco, Huancavelica, Huanuco, Ica, Junin, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Lima, Loreto, Madre de Dios, Moquegua, Pasco, Piura, Puno, San Martin, Tacna, Tumbes and Ucayali.
Emergencies in the country's interior regions were caused by landslides, floods, hailstorms, torrential rains, thunderstorms and snowstorms recorded in December 2016 – January 2017.
Piura, worst-hit region
Northern Piura region has been the most affected, recording 18,996 victims, 225,492 affected citizens, 6 fatalities and 10 injured. It is followed by Lambayeque region, with 41,237 victims, 93,486 affected citizens, 3 fatalities and 2 injured.
Humanitarian aid
In response to such emergencies, regional and local governments, as well as NGOs have contributed 267,86 tons and 7,945 kg of food supplies. These were sent to regions La Libertad, Cajamarca, Huancavelica, Piura, Ancash, Lambayeque, Arequipa, Ica, Lima provinces and Lima's Metropolitan Area.
Indeci's humanitarian aid reach 1,510.71 tons.
Heavy rainfall is expected to continue in Peru's northwest (coast), northern highlands and jungle (Cajamarca and San Martin regions). The forecast extends to South-Andean (Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna), as well as central (Lima and Ica) regions.
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