Peru’s President, Dina Boluarte, confirmed on Saturday the death of two children from the same family in the northern region of Piura, raising to eight the death toll caused by heavy rains and floods in the north of the country after the passage of cyclone Yaku.
“From here, we send them (the families) our condolences and the pain of the two deceased children”, said Boluarte from a town in Piura, where he met with regional authorities to deliver humanitarian aid and put his government at their disposal to help in the situation.
In this regard, the private radio station Radio Programas del Perú detailed that a seven-year-old girl and a nine-year-old boy died during the early hours of this morning when they were trapped by a landslide that destroyed their house in the hamlet of Chamelico, district of San Miguel de El Faique, Huancabamba.
According to what the deputy mayor Ausberto Pacheco told the local media, the tragedy occurred when the landslide swept away four houses, one of them where the minors lived, after which the neighbors ran to help them, but they were found lifeless.
Lenin Huanca, head of the Civil Defense of San Miguel de El Faique, indicated that the hamlet is isolated due to the activation of the Sanchez Cerro creek, so they are working to reestablish traffic and bring help to the families.
Meanwhile, President Boluarte announced that the “Juntos” program of the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion is working to attend to the deceased children’s situation and continue supporting “in a closer way” those affected.
Piura has recorded six deaths due to the heavy rains, while the department of Lambayeque has reported the death of two citizens.
According to the National Civil Defense Institute (Indeci), at least 592 districts in the northern coast and highlands of the country are at risk of being affected by landslides, landslides, or other types of mass movements due to moderate to extreme rainfall affecting the region.
On March 3, the national government declared a state of emergency due to the rains in 233 districts corresponding to the departments of Piura, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Tumbes, Ancash, Lima, and Cajamarca.
The National Meteorology and Hydrology Service (Senamhi) reported today that while the northern coast and north-central highlands are expecting heavy to extreme rains, the coast of Lima, Ica, and Ancash are expecting light to moderate rains.