Flooding at Machu Picchu

Twenty-Something

With all of the focus on the recent tragedy of the Haitian earthquake, another natural disaster near Machu Picchu, Peru has gone unnoticed. This archeological world-renowned treasure has suffered from torrential rains causing massive flooding of local rivers. Thousands of Peruvian lives have been affected and villages destroyed.

The flooding rivers are raging through nearby villages, flattening all structures in their path. Nearly 40 landslides have accompanied the flooding. Families have been left with nothing to their names. Many are dead.

Andrew Dare, a westerner who lives in Cusco, the regions capital, spoke to BBC news regarding his experiences of this disaster. “The people were stunned. We saw the saddest scene: a family sifting through the mud with their bare hands to try to salvage something. All they could recover was a few plates and cups,” Dare said.

Though Peruvian authorities are arriving at the villages to provide as much aid as they have available, they are in dire need. Nearly 2,000 tourists at Machu Picchu have been airlifted away, while locals surrounding the ruins are faced with a life-altering devastation.

“When the tourists are gone, the locals will still suffer,” Dare stated.

Some villages like Pinipampa, are completely gone. They have been wiped out, remaining under water at least 6 feet from the surface. Houses that are made of mud bricks are unlikely to hold. When the water subsides, they will be little more than a mud hole. However, the local villagers remain hopeful; clinging to faith – all they have left.

In Huacarpay, another affected village, all that remains safe from the flooding, is the village school where many locals and neighboring Peruvians are being sheltered. Dare said, “People were setting up tents and shelters on the side of the hill above the water, with the few processions they had managed to salvage.”

“It was very upsetting to see people so desperate,” he added.

“I find Peru has amazing community spirit; the people doing the giving don’t have much themselves,” said Dare as he summed up his recollection of the disaster.

Alcides Jordan, a woman who runs an orphanage in Oropesa, posted a message to BBC online stating, “We are struggling to keep our home from falling into the flood waters...We are struggling to save the house and the greenhouse, which we rely on for our food...The weather forecast is for more rain. I don’t know how we will keep going.”

The rains have been going on for weeks and last week the damage started to occur when the nearest village to Machu Picchu was hit by a landslide killing five people, one of which was a baby. The death toll is rising as the floods recede, though we all wish it wouldn’t.

When I was a young girl, I sent Christmas presents to children in Peru. I would go to the store and pick out a number of gifts that I wanted for myself. We would then box them up and send them out with not only the tape that held the boxes together, but with our hearts. It is now time again to send our hearts to Peru. Please keep the people of this disaster on your mind when living your day-to-day lives. Like Haiti, this region demands any compassion we are able to give.