Cyclone Yaku wreaks death and destruction on its way through Peru
Rescuers find the bodies of a mother and son that the day before fell in the main river of Lima, whose flow has increased in recent weeks due to the rains after the passage of Cyclone Yaku. Part of the house they lived in, built on a cliff next to the Rímac River, also fell.
The police reported that Maria Reyes35 years old, and his son, Ruben Flores, 18, fell more than 15 meters on Tuesday evening into the Rímac River after the foundations of their concrete and brick house had been eaten away by water in recent days. Another dozen neighboring houses also suffered the deterioration of their foundations.
“The houses practically continue in the air; In time, they will give in and continue these dramas,” said a rescue worker.
The prosecutor’s office reported that the bodies of the son and mother were found in the river. María Reyes was a juice seller and cold drinks who have lived in this house for 15 years. Neighbors reported that more than a decade ago the house was more than 10 meters from the edge of the river, but over the years the canal got closer until the water l partially collapsed the day before.
Authorities calculate that since January the rains have caused 50 dead and more than 20,000 homes affected. They also estimate that there are 1,303 houses destroyed and 1,578 houses uninhabitable. Economic losses amount to approximately $4 billion.
In the early morning, rescuer Jhoao Jolkeda, who had descended to the Rímac River using ropes to search for the injured, he was left unconscious after a María Reyes fridge also fell in the water, hitting him in the head. Local television stations recorded the moment of impact. Police later reported that the officer was recovering at the capital’s police hospital.
The impact of bad weather led last week to more than three dozen wooden houses in northern Lima were also washed away by the Chillón Riverwhich crosses the capital by this part and empties into the Pacific.
Rainfall has increased in recent weeks in Lima, a city where historically there is little rain. The unusual waterfall caused about thirty avalanches in various parts of the capital which flooded the houses through which the mass of earth and stones flowed with mud.
The rains also caused the day before the road cut in northern Peruafter a lagoon destroyed a bridge that connects an area rich in phosphates to the region’s main town of Lambayeque.
According to the National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology of Peru, overflows and flooding were caused by Cyclone Yakuan unusual phenomenon present off the coasts of Peru and Ecuador.
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With information from AP
Source: El Heraldo De Mexico
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