At least 40 people died and a dozen were injured as a consequence of soil displacements which have been recorded in various localities of the province of Camaná, region of Arequipain the south of Peru.
Wilson Gutiérrez, civil protection officer of the municipality of Mariano Nicolás Valcárcel, confirmed on RPP radio that some 200 manufactured homes were razed by the avalanche in Secocha, one of the main cities affected.
In this context, the regional governor of Arequipa, Rohel Sanchezconfirmed that relief brigades are on the way to help with relief duties and humanitarian aid goods to care for the nearly 2,000 affected families.
While, he did not rule out that the number of victims will increase in the next few years hours, given that a lot of mining takes place in the affected hills: “We probably have people there who have not been able to leave the mines that have been devastated by the mudslides.”
Several people wait outside local hospitals to identify the bodies of several people found under the mud.
The videos quickly began circulating on social media. The images are shocking: huge masses of mud destroy everything in their path. Residents sought safety on high ground and watched as their homes were swept away.
Among the cities affected by this landslide, following the heavy rains recorded over the weekend in the region, are Pampaylima, Venado de Oro, Infiernillo, San Martín, Miski and Secocha, located in the Mariano Nicolás Valcárcel district.
For her part, MP Diana González sent a letter to the President of the Council of Ministers, Alberto Otárola Peñaranda, to request that the affected area be declared an emergency “so that the administrative procedures relevant to meeting the needs of the population can be streamlined”.
He asked for that too an airlift is enabled which allows the transfer of affected populations, given that several paths and trails are impassable or pose a risk.
The Southern Operational Command of the Army reported that it has made available all the necessary means, such as transport helicopters, material and personnel of the Rapid Intervention Company in Disaster, to facilitate the rescue and evacuation of the victims.
Other landslides that occurred last Sunday in two Andean districts of the Lima department affected 99 homes, leaving 265 people homeless and another 365 with damage to their homes, according to another Civil Protection report.
Source: Clarin
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