Chincha official says 15% of province reconstructed since 2007 quake

An official from Peru’s Chincha province, 200 kms south of Lima in the Ica region, say that about 15% of the 30,000 houses damaged in the massive earthquake in 2007 have been reconstructed.

“On the topic of housing, we have a very high deficit pending,” state news agency Andina reported Chincha Mayor Lucio Juarez as saying. “It creates a terrible feeling to see so many families living with a house facade but with nothing behind it. They don’t get rid of the front because it is the only thing that protects them.” Read more…

Armed Forces ready to reconstruct quake-hit South, says Defense Minister

The Armed Forces are ready to begin work on reconstructing cities in southern Peru where a major earthquake in August 2007 caused widespread damage to infrastructure and killed hundreds of people, said Defense Minister Daniel Mora.

“This work will bring us even closer to the citizenry,” state news agency Andina reported Mora as saying.

The magnitude-8 quake, which lasted two minutes, destroyed three-quarters of Pisco’s city center, and serious damages were also sustained in the broader area of Chincha and Ica, Read more…

IADB to provide $200 million for sustainable development projects in 2011

The Washington D.C.-based Inter-American Development Bank will provide Peru $200 million this year to finance sustainable development projects, country representative Fidel Jaramillo said.

“With this [$200 million] we are going to finance projects like the new sustainable energy matrix, adaptation and mitigation to climate change, the management of natural disasters, and the use of water,” Jarmillo said.

The IADB has been financing these types of development projects in Peru for the past two years and expects to continue its work for at least another two, state news agency Andina reported.

Jarmillo said the IADB has been supporting projects on Peru’s main river basins in order to better managed the resource. Water is an important issue particularly on Peru’s arid coastal region. It is one of the main reasons behind social conflicts between industry and communities.

“As well, we are supporting reforms for policy against climate change even though we haven’t yet calculated how much is needed to fight against climate change because there are topics that are related to adaptation and mitigation,” he said.

Jaramillo made the comments during the presentation of the IADB’s Sustainability Report for 2010, which presented the opportunities and challenges for sustainability in Latin America and the Caribbean.

According to the report, the region saw an improvement last year in its capacity to resolve its sustainability problems.

In the long term, the report points to the extreme climate challenges that the region will face as a result of climate change and its risk to water supply and biodiversity.

In 2010, the IADB provided about $3.60 billion to the region for projects on environmental and energy sustainability and climate change.

Peru to provide financial support for citizens in earthquake-hit Japan

Peru is to provide financial support to its citizens in Japan who are looking to return home following the magnitude-9.0 earthquake that hit the Asian country last week, President Alan Garcia said Wednesday.

“To the Peruvian who wants to return, we have to help,” state news agency Andina reported Garcia as saying. “The Peruvian that is in the disaster area, that has been left with nothing and wants to leave Japan, we also have to help with not only the papers but with a financial subsidy to get a ticket. I think that is absolutely fair.” Read more…

Peru takes precautions following tsunami alert from Japan quake

The tsunami alert along Peru’s coast has been lifted, according to the Navy’s hydrography and navigation office, following the arrival of the first wave early Friday evening, as a result of the massive earthquake that rocked Japan March 11.

The first wave touched the shore of Talara, on the north coast, in the afternoon and measured approximately 40 centimeters, arriving on the Lima coast towards 9pm measuring 20 centimeters.  There were no reportsof damages the length of Peru’s coast, although the tide ebbed approximately 200 meters at San Andres, on the south coast at Pisco, reminiscent of the mild tsunami in 2007 following the massive earthquake off the Pisco coast. Read more…

Tremors offshore from Lima just hours before nationwide Quake and Tsunami Drill

Two tremors were felt in Lima Saturday noon, just hours before a planned nationwide earthquake and tsunami drill took place at 8pm.  

The first tremor was at 12:02 m, with a magnitude of 5º Richter, with its epicenter offshore some 30kms north of Lima at Ancon. The second tremor was 3.8º at 1:48pm, offshore from Chilca about 65km south of Lima, according to the national Geophysical Institute, IGP.  

The nationwide drill was coordinated by the National Defense Institute, INDECI, to test the coordinated efforts of private and state-run institutions in the event of a major earthquake (8º  Richter) and a subsequent tsunami. Read more…

Floods damage crops, roads and housing in Andean highlands

Floods caused by the rise of the Ilave and Zapatilla Rivers in Puno have damaged crops and the homes of 308 families in the El Collao province, according to Puno’s regional president, Mauricio Rodriguez.  Working with the military, who are building retaining walls, Civil Defense is providing tents, food and bedding for flood victims.

Further north, the government has declared a 60-day state of emergency  in the Ayacucho provinces of Huanta, Huamanga and in Vilcashuaman to deal with the floods and landslides from the continuing rains.

And in Arequipa a state of emergency has also been declared, in order to coordinate actions by different state organizations to solve the problems caused by floods and landslides.

Senamhi, the national weather bureau, forecasts continuing rains for the next several days throughout the highlands.

European Commission to provide $2.64 million for rain-hit regions in southern Peru

The European Commission has approved humanitarian aid worth 2 million Euros ($2.64 million) for residents in Peru’s southern Cuzco and Puno departments who were affected by floods and mudslides caused by heavy rains since last December, state news agency Andina reported.

The funds will be distributed through the European Commission Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) department and is expected to benefit more than 60,000 people who were affected by the torrential rainfalls.

The humanitarian assistance will be used to construct temporary housing and provide materials to repair homes. It will also be used to assist in recuperating agriculture sectors damaged by the rains, repairing water and sewage systems, as well as improving activities for the coordination and preparation of disasters.

The operations will be managed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), non-profit organizations Welthungerhilfe of Germany and Italy’s COOPI.

Heavy rains since last December effected 11 departments, particularly the southern Andean regions of Ayacucho, Apurimac, Cuzco, Huancavelica and Puno.

Authorities have said the rains were the most damaging in 15 years. Floods and mudslides caused by the downpours washed away roads and rail lines – including much of the track leading to the sacred Inca citadel Machu Picchu – and more than 55,000 hectares of agriculture land in Cuzco and Puno.

Congressional commission approves project to create national radio for natural disasters

The Peruvian Congress’ civil defense commission approved a project on Monday to create a national radio frequency to help respond to natural disasters, state news agency Andina reported.

The project will allow authorities to help prepare and inform citizens in order to minimize damage during a natural disaster, the head of the commission, Congressman Luis Gonzales Posada, told Andina. He added that the project was supported unanimously by the commission and by Transportation and Communications Minister Enrique Cornejo.

“The transport minister firmly backed setting up a radio with a national reach for civil defense and the environment, for which they will prepare an agreement between Peruvian radio and television, civil defense and the environment ministry,” said Gonzales Posada.

The radio channel will be used to inform citizens of possible tsunamis, freezing temperatures in Peru’s Andean region, and earthquakes. It is expected to be functioning before 2011.

Peru has experienced a variety of natural disasters since the beginning of 2010. One of the most damaging so far this year has been the torrential rainfall that hit Peru’s southern Andean region in January and February.

The rains caused floods and mudslides that destroyed crops, damaged highways and washed away the railway into the country’s sacred Inca citadel and top tourist attraction, Machu Picchu.

State of emergency declared in parts of Ancash after ice block breaks from glacier

Authorities have declared a state of emergency in the province of Carhuaz in Peru’s Ancash region after part of a glacier broke off into a lake creating a massive wave that flooded nearby towns.

“The towns that are in a lot of danger are Hualcán and Pariacaca, which have been blocked off,” the president of Ancash, César Álvarez, told RPP radio station. Álvarez added that the residents are being taken to other areas for their safety.

Álvarez said he has requested a helicopter from Interior Minister Octavio Salazar in order to access areas affected by the flooding and determine the damage.

Peru’s Civil Defense is also working on transporting drinking water to Carhuaz from the capital of Ancash, Huaraz.

According to daily El Comercio, the ice block broke off the Hualcán glacier and crashed into Lake 513. The glacier reportedly measured approximately 500 meters long by 200 meters wide and created a 23 meter wave that flooded the towns of Hualcán, Pariacaca, Acopampa and Carhuaz and damaged a potable water plant.

Six people were originally reported missing, however five were later located — three unharmed and two with minor injuries, according to daily La Republica.

Peru is home to some 70 percent of Earth’s tropical glaciers. The country’s glaciers, which feed hydroelectric plants and provide drinking water to Lima, the world’s second largest desert city after Cairo, Egypt, are in the process of accelerated meltdown due to global warming.

According to Peru’s National Resources Institute, or Inrena, the Andes Mountains have lost at least 22 percent of their glacier area since 1970.

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