| Situation Update No. 14 Ref.no.: FF-20100126-24697-PER
Situation Update No. 14
On 2010-01-30 at 06:23:12 [UTC]
Event: Flash Flood
Location: Peru Urubamba Valley Machu Picchu
Number of Deads: 12 person(s)
Number of Evacuated: 3500 person(s)
Situation: The torrential rains that have been hitting Cusco, Southern Peru, have left 23,445 people without homes, while 37,375 have lost part of their properties, reported Peru's Prime Minister Javier Velasquez Quesquen, quoting recent Civil Defense reports. In a press conference held in Cusco, he said that at present 4,689 houses have been destroyed and 7,435 have been damaged. Nine bridges have collapsed and more than 16,000 hectares of agricultural land have been damaged. Velasquez Quesquen also said that the national program for food aid (Pronaa) has helped 7,669 families with 61 tons of food, while the Civil Defense is taking 120 tons of humanitary aid to its Cusco warehouse. Velásquez Quesquén gave this press conference along with Ministers Martín Pérez, Adolfo de Córdova and Nidia Vílchez, and also with the Ambassadors from Argentina, Brasil and Chile, who will coordinate the evacuation of their citizens.
Peruvian authorities have completed the evacuation of thousands of tourists stranded for days by mudslides and flooding near Machu Picchu, the Government said. "Not a single tourist remains in Machu Picchu or in the town of Aguas Calientes" near the ancient ruins, said tourism minister Martin Perez. "Today we evacuated 1,460 tourists. In total, over four days we rescued 3,500 tourists in 276 flights." Torrential rains had drenched the region, washing out roads and sections of a railway between Cusco and Aguas Calientes, and causing floods and mudslides that affected more than 25,000 people. Seven people were killed, authorities said. Twelve helicopters, six of them lent by the United States, had been flying tourists out of the area since Tuesday (local time), taking them to a nearby village where they were put on buses to Cusco. Argentina and Chile also sent military planes to Cusco to repatriate their nationals. Tourists became trapped at Machu Picchu when landslides cut the railway to the area, the main link to civilisation. The only alternative is a four-day hike along a narrow mountain pathway called the Inca Trail that only 10 per cent of visitors use. That path was also cut by landslides, resulting in the death of an Argentine hiker and his Peruvian guide. Machu Picchu attracts more than 400,000 visitors a year. The 15th-century Inca citadel is located on a high mountain ridge 70 kilometres from Cusco. |
