Severe floods kill dozens in Peru
The South American country has been hit with the most intense downpours and mudslides it has seen in decades.
As well as the deaths, 70,000 people have been left homeless and more than 100 bridges have collapsed since the rain began earlier this week.
Some people are still trapped on roofs waiting to be rescued.
President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has declared half of the country an emergency in order to help get resources to the hardest hit areas.
‘We are confronting a serious climatic problem,’ he said on Friday.
‘There hasn’t been an incident of this strength along the coast of Peru since 1998.’
General Jorge Chavez, who is coordinating the government’s response to the disaster, said the country had never seen anything like this.
He added: ‘From one moment to the next, sea temperatures rose and winds that keep precipitation from reaching land subsided.’
Smartphone footage taken by locals showed the devastation the rain had caused.
A clip posted on social media showed a woman climbing from a river and other videos featured collapsed bridges and damaged infrastructure.
Most of the people who have been affected are poor, including many who chose to build homes on floodplains.
School classes have been suspended in capital Lima and running water has also been restricted in the city.
Writer: Jimmy Nsubuga for Metro.co.uk
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