More than 34,000 populated areas in Peru are located in areas of risk due to natural events, state news agency Andina reported.
A report presented by lawmaker Marco Falconi said that disasters between 2003 and 2009 caused the deaths of 1,387 people; 4,050 injuries; and 800,762 people left without homes.
Falconi, of ex-President Toledo’s Peru Posible party, said the total number of people affected by natural disasters was 6.17 million during the six-year period.
Falconi said he is looking at a bill to relocate people living in zones at risk and that a congressional committee will hold talks about the issue with President Ollanta Humala’s cabinet chief, Salomon Lerner Ghitis, and minister of Economy and Finance, Luis Miguel Castilla.
The relocation of the residents from the zones is expected to cost 2.5 million soles (approximately $92 million) during the next five years.
“The problem is that half of Peruvians, close to 15 million people, live in dangerous zones and of that number, 10 percent live in high risk zones,” Falconi said.
He said that many of the centers are located on hillsides or on the banks of rivers.
Some of the areas are located in Lima, where families live in old homes and other areas that could be heavily damaged if there is an earthquake.
“All of these people have to be slowly moved in the next five years,” Falconi added.
