April 06, 2017

Mud Erased a Village in Peru, a Sign of Larger Perils in South America

Credit Peru’s Presidential Palace, via Reuters

Mud Erased a Village in Peru, a Sign of Larger Perils in South America

The New York Times recently featured an article about Barba Blanca, Peru, a small village destroyed by the recent flooding and mudslides. The RMF Peru team has since made plans to travel to Barba Blanca to evaluate the needs and offer medical services to the community.

Read a small excerpt below. Read the full article on The New York Times website.

"BARBA BLANCA, Peru — A sheet of mud covers the village. Lampposts are bent sideways. Rooftops sit blocks from their homes. The nave of the village church is filled with sludge.

A catastrophic mudslide essentially erased Barba Blanca from the map last month. Yet somehow all 150 people who lived here in this Peruvian village managed to escape.

“A miracle,” said Diego Blanco, a 27-year-old construction worker, looking out from a hillside perch onto the ruined homes of his family members.

Large parts of South America have been pummeled for weeks by torrential rains that are wreaking havoc throughout the western region of the continent. Floods and destructive mudslides in Peru, Ecuador and Colombia have killed hundreds and displaced thousands more."

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