Peruvian Government Decrees Emergency Due to Heavy Rains

The designated government of Peru announced on Friday that it will issue a decree today to declare a state of emergency from the metropolitan area of Lima to the Tumbes region, in the north, due to the heavy rains that will be recorded in the coming days.

Peruvian President-designate Dina Boluarte received a report on the weather forecast for Lima and the country, which has been experiencing severe rainfall due to Cyclone Yaku, a "very unusual" phenomenon, which has already left six dead.

The Minister of Defense, Jorge Chávez, declared to the press on Friday that: "Tomorrow (Saturday) the declaration of the state of emergency due to impact from Tumbes to Lima will be ordered immediately in order to take all the corresponding actions."

The official indicated that experts expect the cyclone to be moving away from the Peruvian coasts next Wednesday, however, "it can cause rain in the coastal area of Lima and activate the more than 30 streams" of the department.

The head of the National Meteorology and Hydrology Service of Peru (Senamhi), Guillermo Baigorria, said that "completely unusual" rains of up to 5 millimeters are expected in Lima between Sunday and Tuesday, which is equivalent to the annual average of rainfall in the capital.

The National Institute of Civil Defense, meanwhile, issued a report in which it detailed that since the beginning of the rainy season, last November, at least 58 people have been killed, 57 injured and eight missing.

In addition, 8,222 victims have been recorded, 420 homes destroyed, 2,509 uninhabitable and 14,000 affected.