El Niño keeps hitting hard in several coasts of the Pacific. Peru has now declared a state of emergency that has effect on nearly 40% of the South American country. It's a measure that will last for two months (July and August) and that covers 796 districts spanning several regions, including Lima, Cusco, and Arequipa. The reason, the imminent risk of heavy rain related to El Niño weather phenomenon in the Pacific ocean.
As it's the case in other countries, the emergency state allows authorities to act before the rains fall. As such, regional and local governments are coordinating already with national authorities to carry out extraordinary measures of prevention and risk-reduction.
A couple of weeks ago El Niño was deemed the strongest weather phenomenon in 70 years. It's passing has been raising fears of severe weather disruption, as it warns Pacific surface waters and alters global weather patterns. Often, this translates to heavier rains to some regions and drought to others, as we've been reporting the past few days. In Peru's case, the main concern remains the former potentially leading to flooding.
Source: Reuters.
