Death 72 as Peru's floods confirmed the worst for two decades

Death 72 as Peru's floods confirmed the worst for two decades





The rains have overwhelmed the drainage systems in cities along Peru's Pacific coast and the health ministry has started fumigating around the pools of water that have formed in the streets to kill mosquitoes that carry diseases like dengue.



Peru's capital city, Lima, has been without a water service since the beginning of the week.



The Government has deployed the armed forces to help police control public order in the 811 cities that have declared an emergency



The highly unusual rains follow a series of storms that have struck hard along Peru's northern coast, with voracious waters inundating hospitals and leaving some small villages isolated.



The storms are being caused by a warming of the surface waters in the Pacific Ocean and are expected to continue for another two weeks, with the disaster affecting more than half the nation.



 In the Lambayeque region, 22 inmates at a juvenile detention centre took advantage of the rains to escape.



Rains flooded a cemetery in the city of Trujillo with the waters carrying bones through the streets.



In Peru's capital city of Lima, where a desert climate seldom leads to rain, police on Friday helped hundreds of residents in an outer neighbourhood cross a flooded road by sending them one-by-one along a rope through choppy waters.



The muddy current channelled down the street after a major river overflowed. Some residents left their homes with a single plastic bag of belongings.



The presidents of Chile, Bolivia and Venezuela offered to send help to Peru.



  Sourceئ   BBC