HUARMEY, Peru (Reuters) — Residents of the flood-ravaged city of Huarmey in central Peru are struggling to tame encroaching waters after lagoons in the city burst their banks, exacerbating a natural disaster that has claimed at least 75 lives nationally.
An avalanche of mud has hit homes in the city, forcing residents to lay down sandbags to protect their belongings. Drinking water has also been cut off for many residents, with authorities forced to truck in supplies.
President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski toured the stricken city and told media he is also frustrated by the extent of the damage caused.
According to reports, the floods and mud have reached a local hospital, limiting operations at the medical facility due to power shortages. Patients were moved onto the roof away from floods, others evacuated to other facilities.
Close to Peru’s coast, fishermen are also doing it tough.
The warmer waters from the El Niño weather phenomenon has seen catches fall drastically. Some fish caught are often too hot for re-sale
The warmer temperatures of the sea has reportedly affected currents, with surfers out in the Pacific to catch some waves, braving the dirty water.
About half of Peru has been declared in emergency to expedite resources to the hardest hit areas, mostly in the north where rainfall has broken records in several districts due to the El Niño weather phenomena.
So far at least 79 have been killed in the flooding, 267 have been injured, 21 have gone missing and some 665,000 have been displaced, according to the latest official report.