RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:Sign of the times.Anyone who wishes to understand the threat to Pervian miners needs the informaiton providd by Relief Web. a source that has been cited in over a dozen posts. ACAPS Briefing Note: Peru - Humanitarian impact of heavy rainfall and flooding, 19 March 2024
Since 1 December 2023, heavy rain and associated floods, landslides, and storms have affected most of Peru. Between 6 January and 1 March 2024, the rain and floods affected over 100,000 people, including over 30,000 children, and damaged or destroyed around 42,000 homes, 70 schools, and 130 health centres (UNICEF 08/03/2024). On 26 and 28 February, the Government of Peru declared two 60-day states of emergency because of intense rain in districts belonging to 19 of Peru’s 24 departments: Amazonas, ncash, Apurmac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Cuzco, Huancavelica, Hunuco, Ica, Junn, La Libertad, Lima, Loreto, Madre de Dios, Moquegua, Pasco, Puno, and Ucayali (El Peruano 26/02/2024 and 28/02/2024). As at 6 March, rain and floods had killed eight people since January, all in Apurmac department (Mongabay 06/03/2024).
Recent severe incidents of heavy rain and flooding occurred in Tumbes and Piura departments in mid-February; Madre de Dios department from 21–26 February; Ucayali department from 24 February to at least 4 March; Cusco department on 29 February, with a landslide injuring 12 people and leaving two others missing; and Junn and ncash departments from 10–12 March (ECHO 26/02/2024 and 29/02/2024; FPP 04/03/2024; Canal N 25/02/2024; Panamericana 25/02/2024; El Heraldo 21/02/2024; PAHO 13/03/2024).
The rain, floods, and landslides have significantly limited access to basic services and increased shelter, WASH, health, food security, and livelihood needs (El Comercio 26/02/2024; UNICEF 08/03/2024; ECHO 26/02/2024; Infobae 24/02/2024). Stagnant water and damage to WASH infrastructure raise the risk of dengue transmission, which is already high because of an outbreak across the country (UNICEF 08/03/2024; DGE accessed 12/03/2024). The long-term impact of heavy rainfall and floods on agriculture will aggravate food insecurity, with over half the Peruvian population experiencing food insecurity as at August 2022, making it the most food-insecure country in Latin America (FAO 25/08/2022).
Coping capacities in many affected departments, particularly in northern Peru, are already low because of heavy rainfall, floods, and landslides from September 2022 until mid-2023, which left nearly 850,000 people in need as at August 2023 (OCHA 23/08/2023; ECHO 02/05/2023). Localised coastal El Nio, which results from warmer Pacific Ocean temperatures off the coast of Peru, and the global El Nio phenomenon aggravate these extreme weather conditions (UN 01/05/2023; IMARPE accessed 15/03/2024).
ACAPS Briefing Note: Peru - Humanitarian impact of heavy rainfall and flooding, 19 March 2024 - Peru | ReliefWeb