Neighbors band together as floods cause widespread destruction in Peru

World Today

Peru’s worst flooding in decades hs caused the Piura River to burst its banks and four more people have been added to the country’s death toll.

Tens of thousands are affected.

CGTN’s Dan Collyns reports from Northern Peru.

When the flood came at one in afternoon on Monday, the people in the tiny Hamlet of Santa Rosa headed for high ground.

The church was more than a sanctuary, said Luis Eduardo Bruno, and it still is.

“This church has been like an ark for us, thank God, the whole village was able to gather here, and nature took everything else, ” Bruno said.

And there are hundreds more places like Santa Rosa. Many have already lost homes, crops and livestock in flash floods in recent weeks.

Then came the heaviest rains in a decade – now they’re desperate.

After the flood, low-lying areas have become a sea of muddy water with communities stranded on islands. Only the navy commandos are getting to the most isolated places.

A contingent of 70 navy special forces officers are using these zodiac boats to rescue stranded people and bring help throughout Piura.

Even though they’re living hand-to-mouth, many have refused to be evacuated.