The intense rains recorded in Tumbes continue to wreak havoc in the region. This was reported to El Comercio engineer Juan Carlos Ramírez Astudillo, head of the Regional Disaster Risk Management Office (Ofregerd) of the Regional Government of Tumbes and member of the National Emergency Operations Center (COEN).
The specialist indicated that the roads in the district of San Juan de la Virgen remain affected as a result of the rains and floods. Likewise, he noted that several streams are activated in the region, including Santa Rosa, Peña Blanca, Cardalitos, Belén, Cabuyal, La Capitana, Siete de Junio, Señor de los Milagros, Quebrada Seca, Fernández, Faical, El Tutumo, Mariátegui, Coloma, Las Peñas, Cafeterías and Miraflores.
“We currently have 13 warehouses at the service of the affected population, in addition to shovels, backhoes, tanker trucks and dump trucks. With the help of professionals, we try to help and monitor this rainy period,” he indicated.
Ramírez Astudillo pointed out that, after the supervision of the President of the Republic, Keiko Fujimori, in the region, it was decided that the Peruvian Army would also participate in the work to face the effects of the El Niño phenomenon. “We recommend that the population avoid traveling through active streams, because doing so can cause loss of life. We will try to do our best in the face of any attack from nature,” he concluded.
The rains in Tumbes have generated floods and drain collapses for several days. Photo: Senamhi.
Actions
The COEN reported that the Peruvian Army implemented and conditioned the health infrastructure of the María Mafalda Lama Lama school, located in the El Pacífico neighborhood, whose facilities function as the headquarters of a temporary field hospital to deal with emergencies.
Likewise, personnel from the Rapid Intervention Brigade for Disasters of Tank Battalion No. 223, of the 9th Armored Brigade, resumed support work in the Canoas district of Punta Sal, where they carry out road cleaning and channel clearing work, in coordination with local authorities.
On the other hand, the Rapid Intervention Brigade for Disasters of the 23rd Motorized Infantry Battalion, of the 1st Infantry Brigade, transferred humanitarian aid to the temporary shelter installed in the Alberto Terranova sports center, in the San José neighborhood. Meanwhile, the Rapid Intervention Company for Disasters of Tank Battalion No. 222, of the 9th Armored Brigade, resumed support work in the Zorritos district, where it carries out canal cleaning work.
Likewise, the sports slab of the El Gran Chilimasa educational institution, located in the district of Aguas Verdes, province of Zarumilla, was converted into a temporary shelter.
Victims receive help from the effects of El Niño.
For its part, the international organization World Vision Peru, in coordination with the UGEL of Zarumilla, delivered kits for debris removal and cleaning to educational institutions No. 069, No. 127 Julio Salvador Izquierdo Puell and No. 112, with the aim of recovering their educational spaces and preparing them for possible emergency situations.
Medical attention
With the aim of guaranteeing the continuity of medical care in Tumbes, the Social Health Insurance (EsSalud) signed an agreement to temporarily use non-flood areas of the Puyango-Tumbes Binational Special Project.
These spaces will allow patients to be treated and expand the capacity of health services during the most critical period of rain. After a joint technical visit, both institutions verified that the complex meets the necessary conditions to provide care and is out of reach of rainwater.
As part of this health response strategy, EsSalud also established an alliance with the Peruvian Army to plan the timely transfer of patients, medical supplies and essential medications. This measure seeks to guarantee assistance to the population in the event that floods, landslides or the activation of streams interrupt road connectivity in the region.
