Peru Floods to continue for next two weeks
Heavy rainfall and flooding continues to wreak havoc in Peru. So much so that a state of emergency has been declared covering half of the country. It is the worst flood in Peru in last two decades.
As per weather experts, these torrential downpours can be attributed to the Coastal El Nino phenomenon, with exceptionally warm water in the Pacific Ocean.
This occurrence of local El Niño-like conditions has flipped the weather situation of the country from widespread drought to enormous flooding. Just a few months ago, Peru has been reeling under widespread drought and record wildfires.
According to Peru’s National Emergency Operations Centre, 75 people have lost their lives in floods, many are missing, and over 625,000 people are affected including more than 70,000 who have lost their homes.
On Peru’s northern coast, small villages have been totally cut off. Weather forecasters predict these torrential downpours and flooding to continue for another two weeks.
Incessant rains have triggered massive floods across the parts of Peru during the last 24 hours. Moreover, no respite is in sight as more heavy showers are likely to batter the region.
Reportedly, it is the worst flood in Peru in span of two decades. An unusual spell of heavy rainfall has lashed coastal parts of Peru, which is 10 times more than the normal average. This has caused rivers to overflow and mudslides.
Weathermen expects showers and thunderstorms to continue through the weekend, however the heaviest rainfall is expected from Wednesday into Saturday. Foothills and Andes will see torrential downpours, which will lead to dangerous river currents and flooding along the coast, including Lima.
On and off heavy rains have lashing Peru since the beginning of the year. This has claimed around 75 lives since January, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced. In fact, 20 people have been missing.
According to meteorologists, these incessant rains can be attributed to the warming off the ocean waters off the coast of Peru. Sea surface temperatures are settling above normal by at least 4-5 degrees along the Peru’s coastline.
These exceptionally warm temperatures are indicating towards the evolving El- Niño, which could lead to more rounds of torrential rainfall. We expect that these rains are likely to continue through April, thereafter Peru’s dry season begins to take hold in May and June.
Lima has been worst impacted with the swollen rivers causing flooding and travel disruption around the city. Besides this, the flooding has also affected the water supply as the systems became clogged.
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