The Navy’s multipurpose ship, the BAP Pisco, is sailing north to the port of Paita, in Piura, as the civil defense institute today has issued a red alert of possible floods caused by heavy rainfall and storms on the north coast. The Pisco has just completed a similar mission to Ilo on the south coast, carrying emergency supplies, equipment and health and civil engineering teams from different ministries. For the north coast, the ship is also carrying 500 temporary housing units.
More than 50 people have been killed by floods and landslides in different parts of the country over the past three weeks. The south coast and highlands of Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna were the first to suffer damages but the initial death toll of 12 sharply increased when rains became heavier in other parts of the country. In Ilo, the harvest of olives is expected to be severly damaged.
The north coast expects increased flooding, much of it where heavy damages caused by rain two years ago has yet to be fully repaired.
The weather bureau, Senamhi, has also warned of increased storms and rain will last through to the weekend throughout the Andes and the rainforest.
In Lima, several inland roads have been cut off by landslides, including the eastbound Carretera Central, its narrow valley the scene of landslides every year, and where several have already been reported in the Huarochirí area this week.
