Flooding continue in Peru as rescue efforts rush to save lives

World Today

Heavy rains and floods have continued to inundate Peru. Authorities have shut schools and announced a state of emergency in parts of the country.

CGTN’s Dan Collyns has been following the rescue efforts.

Workers saved dozens of people using a pulley rope system as floodwaters turned streets into rivers. Dozens were stranded on a rooftop as the waters rose. Others up to their armpits in the fast-flowing current waded across clinging to a rope.

“There is no way to cross and there are a lot of people who want to come over because they want to get to their homes,” said Henry Obando, who had been rescued.

But help arrived. Hundreds of people were airlifted from flood-stricken areas.

Peru’s president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski committed funds to the reconstruction effort:

Government officials said half a million people have been displaced but the worst may not be over yet. These rains have taken the country by surprise after drought-like and arid conditions. What were once dry riverbeds have turned into raging torrents.

Dozens of people looked on as a swollen river washed away the bank on which their homes stand.

Despite the rising tide of floodwater there’s not enough to drink, forcing people to cross dangerous roads to access a spring. As landslides block roads and supplies, basic food prices are going up and more rains are expected in April.