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Peru – Cyclone Yaku, which in Quechua means water, is an unusual meteorological event characterized by torrential rainfall, flooding, and river overflows. It is feared that the rainfall will raise the level of dozens of rivers and that the flow of several streams will increase, which would affect vulnerable populations.
Defense Minister Jorge Chávez Cresta announced that another emergency declaration will be issued, this time from Lima to the Tumbes regions, near Ecuador.
On March 3, the Peruvian government had already declared a 60-day state of emergency for 233 districts in the departments of Piura, Lambayeque, Tumbes, La Libertad, Áncash, Lima and Cajamarca, which are in the north of the country. The measure was taken to expedite actions to guarantee the protection of citizens in the midst of heavy rains.
So far the rainfall They have caused the death of at least six people, four in the department of Piura and another two in Lambayeque, according to the authorities of the National Institute of Civil Defense (Indeci).
The origins
Yaku formed in late February in the Pacific. It is known from the record of high temperatures that the rains increased: the normal average that occurs in the sea at this time of the year is 25 to 26 degrees and has currently reached 28 degrees.
For this reason, the Civil Defense and local authorities in recent weeks have monitored the rivers to decide in advance evacuations in case of possible overflows.
Intensification of rains
“The departments of Cajamarca, Lambayeque, Piura and Tumbes are on red alert because they are sectors where extreme intensity rainfall is going to occur,” said César Sierra, Indeci’s response director, who also added that there is “population exposed to the activation of ravines in Amazonas, Áncash, Cajamarca, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Piura, San Martín and Tumbes”.
Therefore, the Peruvian authorities have made special deliveries and humanitarian aid available to deal with the situation. The ministers of the environment, housing, agricultural development, defense and the country’s president, Dina Boluarte, announced this Saturday more specific aid for the victims and visited some areas in the north of the country.
In the words ofhe executive president of the National Meteorology and Hydrology Service of Peru (Senamhi), Guillermo Baigorria, with the new decree, “the times and areas” of this measure can be extended and reach a greater number of people in the shortest possible time.
“We are coming with humanitarian aid in this work articulated with the private company, since the State does not have enough machinery to deal with this situation at the national level. I announce that as a government policy we are working to reach each provincial municipality with a package of machinery throughout the country so that they can face this crisis situation due to natural phenomena,” President Dina Boluarte said from Tumbes.
Experts expect the ‘Yaku’ cyclone to withdraw from the coasts of the Andean country around April 15, and Baigorria, assured that in Lima it is estimated that there will be “completely unusual” rainfall between March 12 and 14. Rains that will leave floods of up to 5 millimeters, which is the annual average rainfall in the capital city.
The fatalities of the rains are 58 people since the rainy season began last year. Also, rOfficial reports estimate that since November, at least 57 people have been injured and at least eight are missing. There were 8,222 victims, 420 homes destroyed, 2,509 in a condition that left them uninhabitable, and at least 14,000 structures affected.
With information from EFE and local media.
