Peru declares emergency after floods

Torrential rains and floods have killed 16 people, left 24 missing and destroyed highways and homes since January, Peru's civil defence agency said yesterday as the government declared a state of emergency in four districts. The La Nina weather...

Torrential rains and floods have killed 16 people, left 24 missing and destroyed highways and homes since January, Peru's civil defence agency said yesterday as the government declared a state of emergency in four districts.

The La Nina weather phenomenon, characterised by cooler than normal sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, has been blamed for exacerbating rainy seasons in the Andes region this year.

Nearly half a million people have been affected by the rains, which started two months ago and have fallen hardest in the interior and on Peru's northern coast.

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