Lima, the city where it almost never rains, in an emergency due to Cyclone Yaku

The overflow of the Chillón River, in Lima, destroys some 25 rustic houses that were near the shore.Paolo Aguilar (EFE)

It rains so little in Lima that, when it does, its inhabitants prepare for a deluge.

Between the last century and this one, it only rained hard in the capital in 1925, in 1970 and now in 2023. Each of those occasions has been an event and, in turn, a disaster.

If in March 1925 the Peruvian capital was left in the dark for two weeks after the electrical service had collapsed;

in January 1970, more than 2,000 houses collapsed, rivers burst their banks, and the city was cut off.

Panic has now returned, due to a series of weather conditions, including the appearance of Cyclone Yaku (water in Quechua).

Last Sunday, the Executive declared a State of Emergency in 483 districts in 17 regions of the country, mainly on the coast and the mountains.

The phenomenon began its route in the first days of March, 500 kilometers from the Tumbes and Piura regions.

Crumbling houses, non-operational schools, markets and hospitals, blocked streets and waist-deep brown waters is the drama of the north coast these days.

A scene that is repeated every summer and that always catches the State and civil society off guard, although this time the damage has been more devastating.

According to the National Emergency Operations Center (COEN), since the rainy season began in September it has left 61 dead, 57 injured and 12,870 homeless.

In Lima, the alert was activated last week with unusual rains that forced citizens to cover themselves with cardboard, improvise raincoats with plastic bags and use umbrellas as if they were umbrellas.

"Lima is not prepared for the rains," declared the Minister of Housing, Construction and Sanitation, Hania Pérez de Cuellar.

A sentence that can be heard on television and in any corner.

As specialists have pointed out, the most vulnerable areas are those located in the upper parts, close to the ravines.

This has already affected some thirty noble material homes in the districts of Comas and Puente Piedra, which have been visibly affected.

The increase in the flow of the Huaycoloro, Rímac and Chillón rivers in recent hours is not a good omen for the capital.

Even more so when the National Meteorology and Hydrology Service of Peru (Senamhi) has predicted that between Tuesday and Wednesday it could rain up to five millimeters in Lima, which is equivalent to five liters of water per square meter.

"For Lima it is extreme, because we are a city of drizzle, not rain," remarks Senamhi.

The mayor, Rafael López Aliaga, proposed that this Tuesday be a non-working day, but also made a religious exhortation: "I invite you to make a prayer chain so that the onslaught of nature is not so strong."

The President of the Republic, Dina Boluarte, who flew over the rivers in a helicopter to verify the increase in their flow, made some announcements.

An Armed Forces ship will leave in the coming days carrying humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable areas and will present a bill to Congress to promote the creation of the National Infrastructure Authority, an entity that will be in charge of watershed prevention and control to avoid landslides and floods.

“Organize yourselves in your neighborhoods, and on your blocks, with your children.

Activate prevention measures and contingency plans to protect yourself and our families.

We call on regional governors and mayors to act immediately.

(…) Cyclone Yaku has arrived and has found a State without supplies”, lamented Boluarte.

Due to the incessant rain during the early hours of this Tuesday, the waters in the Chosica district reached 3.9 millimeters;

in Villa María del Triunfo, 2.4 millimeters;

in La Molina, 2.3 millimeters, among others.

To the east of Lima, in the town of Huaycán, 150 houses collapsed after the fall of a landslide, while in the district of San Miguel 15 houses are in danger.

According to meteorologists, Yaku is heading west and moving further and further away from the coast.

What we are experiencing, they say, are its effects.

Even so, the fear will be latent as long as the country continues without drainage systems, protection dikes, risk prevention maps and houses continue to be built on the banks.

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