The president of Peru, Keiko Fujimori, announced this Monday the declaration of "emergency" in several districts of Lima and in various regions of the country hit by floods, which have interrupted traffic, saturated drainage systems, damaged homes, and forced the evacuation of dozens of families.
Fujimori communicated the measure during a visit to Villa El Salvador, in the south of the capital, one of the hardest-hit areas, where significant damage has been recorded in more than 60 houses and a population of over 300 people has been affected. The Peruvian government has expanded the emergency declaration to three other districts in Lima: Chorrillos, Villa María del Triunfo, and San Juan de Miraflores.
"My solidarity with all the families who have lost everything. Thank God we have no loss of human life, but there are many material losses. We are going to declare several districts and also regions in the south of the country and the highlands in emergency," the president stated, accompanied by the Minister of Housing, Mauricio Arnillas, and the mayor of Lima, Renzo Reggiardo.
The areas included in the measure are Tumbes, Piura, Lambayeque, and La Libertad —in the north—, Áncash and Ica, in the central strip, as well as the southern regions of Moquegua and Arequipa.
At the same time, Fujimori responded to the criticisms directed at the Minister of Economy, Elmer Cuba, after he asked the population for calm this Monday and downplayed the impact of the torrential rains.
"Let’s not despair, there are rains all over the planet and the same thing happens. Even Paris floods, even Madrid floods. Santiago de Chile, which is used to rain, floods (...) Let’s not exaggerate for a little water at the knees, that’s how it goes," she pointed out during an interview granted to the Exitosa radio station.
The head of state has opined that the Minister of Economy "is not seeing the magnitude of the damage, the losses, and the pain of the families who are experiencing this great sadness because in many cases they have lost everything."
"My solidarity with all of them. Here what is important is, in addition to addressing the emergency, to correct the structural failures," she added, emphasizing the need to address the underlying deficiencies that exacerbate the effects of the floods.
After the controversy, the Minister of Economy has apologized "if anyone felt offended" by his words. "I agree with what the president said. It is a colloquial expression and looking more calmly at what is happening, it expresses another concern," he indicated in statements to the RPP network.