The Tumbes River overflowed its banks on Thursday morning, after having registered a flow of 937.54 cubic meters per second, and affected more than 600 homes, as well as 300 hectares of crops, local authorities reported.
The event flooded the first three blocks of Mariscal Castilla Avenue up to the eighth block of Grau Street in Bellavista Park.
Faced with this situation, Army troops are placing sandbags to prevent water from flowing into the Main Square, where the local civic center and banking entities are located.
Tumbes Province Mayor Hildebrando Antón requested the National Police to prevent the entry of vehicles into the Bellavista sector, as overflow water is entering homes due to the waves formed given the passage of vehicles.
Affected homes and crops
The mayor reported more than 600 houses damaged following the collapse of their walls and precarious roofs.
Similarly, around 300 hectares of banana crops were flooded.
The National Civil Defense Institute (Indeci) chief in Tumbes is engaged in coordination with technical teams to implement actions aimed at attending to the affected families in this area.
The official indicated that damage is temporary, because once the river's capacity drops, the aquifer will be withdrawn from the urban area.
(END) MRP/LZD/MVB