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| Situation Update No. 4 Ref.no.: FF-20100126-24697-PER
Situation Update No. 4
On 2010-01-27 at 04:15:55 [UTC]
Event: Flash Flood
Location: Peru Urubamba Valley Machu Picchu
Number of Deads: 4 person(s)
Number of Evacuated: 1950 person(s)
Situation: Dozens of Aussies are believed to be among 1900 tourists stranded by flooding and mudslides near Peru's Machu Picchu, which have killed at least five people. A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman said Consular officials in Lima were working to determine how many affected Aussies were in the area. "We are in direct contact with many of those Australians and their tour providers, who we understand are making alternative transport arrangements," she said. She said officials had not received any reports of any Australians dead or injured. An operation to airlift the foreigners out of the southeastern disaster zone was suspended because of heavy rain after just 75 were flown out by helicopter. Two men drowned in a swollen river, another died in a landslide, and a mother and her child were killed in the town of Cusco when heavy rainfall made their home collapse, emergency officials said. All were believed to be local Peruvians. Local media also reported a 20-year-old Argentine tourist and his 33-year-old Peruvian mountain guide died as they were trekking the Inca Trail, a famous Andean pathway that leads to Machu Picchu. Police said they were trying to verify those two deaths, and had sent a patrol along the trail. Peru's presidential chief of staff Javier Velasquez travelled to Cusco with emergency-level ministers and officials to evaluate the situation and coordinate rescues. The country's civil defence service said it estimated the homes of 1300 people in poor rural areas - many of them riverside dwellings made of clay and straw - had been destroyed. Another 12,000 people were affected to a lesser degree, losing possessions or suffering property damage. In Cusco, where a 60-day state of emergency has been declared, two bridges collapsed and 250 houses were destroyed. Machu Picchu is one of the most popular destinations for tourists in Latin America, attracting more than 400,000 visitors a year. The 15th-century Inca ruins are located on a high mountain ridge 70km from Cusco. A railway that transports tourists to the site was covered by a mudslide. Peru's rainy season is between November and May when landslides are common. |  | | | |
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