A sudden and abnormal warming of Pacific waters off Peru has unleashed the deadliest downpours in decades, with landslides and raging rivers sweeping away people, clogging highways and destroying crops in a potential sign of a global El Nino pattern this year.
At least 62 people have died and more than 70,000 have become homeless as Peru's rainy season has delivered 10 times as much rainfall than usual, authorities said Friday.
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, said Prime Minister Fernando Zavala.
Peru is bracing itself for another month of flooding.
A local El Nino phenomenon, the warming of surface sea temperatures in the Pacific, will likely continue along Peru's northern coast at least through April, said Dimitri Gutierrez, a scientist with Peru's El Nino committee.
Local El Ninos in Peru tend to be followed by the global El Nino phenomenon, which can trigger flooding and droughts in different countries, said Gutierrez.
The U.S. weather agency has put the chances of an El Nino developing in the second half of 2017 at 50-55 percent.
While precipitation in Peru has not exceeded the powerful El Nino of 1998, more rain is falling in shorter periods of time - rapidly filling streets and rivers, said Jorge Chavez, a general tasked with coordinating the government's response.
"We've never seen anything like this before," said Chavez. "From one moment to the next, sea temperatures rose and winds that keep precipitation from reaching land subsided."
Some scientists have said climate change will make El Ninos more frequent and intense.
In Peru, apocalyptic scenes recorded on cellphones and shared on social media have broadened the sense of chaos.
A woman caked in mud pulled herself from under a debris-filled river earlier this week after a mudslide rushed through a valley where she was tending to crops.
Bridges have collapsed as rivers have breached their banks, and cows and pigs have turned up on beaches after being carried away by rivers.
"There's no need to panic, the government knows what it's doing," President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said in a televised event, urging people to stay clear of rivers.
In Lima, the capital, classes have been suspended and running water has been restricted after treatment systems were clogged - prompting a rush on bottled water that produced shortages at some supermarkets.
The vast majority of people affected by the extreme weather are poor, including many who built makeshift homes on floodplains that had been dry for 20 years, said Chavez.
"There's no electricity, no drinking water...no transit because streets are flooded," said Valentin Fernandez, mayor of the town Nuevo Chimbote.
Chavez said Peru must rethink its infrastructure to prepare for the potential "tropicalization" of the northern desert coast, which some climate models have forecast as temperatures rise.
"We need more and better bridges, we need highways and cities with drainage systems," said Chavez. "We can't count on nature being predictable."
Reuters
Sat Mar 18 2017
A woman is assisted while crossing a flooded street after the Huayco river overflooded its banks sending torrents of mud and water rushing through the streets in Huachipa, Peru, March 17, 2017. Photo Reuters/Guadalupe Pardo
Pertandingan empat penjuru N.06 Kuala Kubu Bharu
Untuk perkembangan lanjut berkaitan Pilihan Raya Kecil Kuala Kubu Baharu kita bersama rakan setugas, Firdaus Azil.
PRK Kuala Kubu Bharu saksikan pertandingan empat penjuru
Perkara itu disahkan oleh Pegawai Pengurus bagi PRK tersebut, Yuhanas Auree Kamaruddin di Pusat Penamaan Calon PRK Kuala Kubu Bharu, Dewan Serbaguna dan Kompleks Sukan Daerah Hulu Selangor kira-kira jam 10.38 pagi, pada Sabtu.
KKR, CIDB zahir hasrat hantar pekerja ke Nagasaki teroka kemahiran TVET
KKR menerusi agensinya Lembaga Pembangunan Industri Pembinaan Malaysia (CIDB) berhasrat memulakan penghantaran pekerja ke Nagasaki, Jepun menjelang suku keempat tahun ini.
Piala Thomas: Leong Jun Hao lakar kebangkitan, pastikan kemenangan Malaysia!
Leong Jun Hao melakar kebangkitan memastikan Malaysia memperoleh kemenangan ke atas wakil Hong Kong, Angus Ng Ka Long.
1MDB: Prosiding Najib julung kali dibuat pada Sabtu
Perbicaraan pertama dibuat pada hujung minggu ini berlangsung tepat jam 8.30 pagi, selepas bekas Perdana Menteri itu dibawa pihak berkuasa dengan menaiki kenderaan dari Jabatan Penjara.
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu: Kerajaan Perpaduan akan dibebani isu semasa - Muhyiddin
PRK ini bakal jadi referendum untuk rakyat suarakan pandangan yang disifatkan Muhyiddin sebagai perasaan tidak puas hati.
Pelajar PhD USIM ambil ujian di sebalik runtuhan di Gaza
Pelajar PhD USIM warga Palestin nekad menjalani Ujian Kelayakan yang dijalankan secara dalam talian pada Jumaat walaupun berdepan risiko dibom tentera Zionis pada bila-bila masa.
UMNO dan BN dokong calon PH demi Kerajaan Perpaduan - Ahmad Zahid
Presiden UMNOsedar taktik pihak tertentu yang cuba melaga-lagakan parti pimpinannya dengan parti komponen Pakatan Harapan itu.
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu saksikan pertandingan empat penjuru
Keempat-empat calon itu ialah Khairul Azhari Saut (PN), Pang Sock Tao (PH), Nyau Ke Xin (Bebas) dan Hafizah Zainudin (Parti Rakyat Malaysia).
3 maut, 5 parah nahas dua pacuan empat roda
Tiga maut, lima parah dalam kemalangan membabitkan dua kenderaan pacuan empat roda di Jalan Kuala Krai-Gua Musang kira-kira jam 12.30 pagi tadi.