Aid flown into flood-hit Peru
Heavy rains in mid-March led to the worst flooding and landslides to hit Peru in decades.
Heavy rains in mid-March led to the worst flooding and landslides to hit Peru in decades, resulting in dozens of deaths as rivers burst their banks. Peruvian Air Force helicopters and plane crews responded to assist the thousands of citizens affected by the extensive damage caused to buildings and infrastructure in the north of the country.
Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, president of Peru, took to a Peruvian Air Force helicopter on 18 March to survey the region around the Peruvian capital, Lima, from the air. He said: “Our country is strong and will come out of this adversity.” Also onboard the flight were Minister of Transport Martín Vizcarra and Finance Minister Alfredo Thorne.
Among the services that responded from outside the country was the Ecuadorian Air Force, which sent a plane from Simón Bolívar Air Base in Guayaquil to Lima in conjunction with Ecuador’s Ministry of Risk Management (MRM). MRM’s Vice-Minister Ricardo Peñaherrera accompanied a cargo of humanitarian aid, including 3,000 food rations. The aircraft was also used to evacuate 71 Ecuadorian and 12 Colombian citizens. Other agencies involved included the Colombian Air Force, which dispatched four helicopters and a plane carrying 30 tons of humanitarian aid, while a Chilean Air Force plane flew in a further 18 tons of supplies.