Cusco update

Andy Dare returns to the flooded region of Peru

Twenty days after the severe floods in the Cusco region I went back for another visit to Lucre. The river was back to just being a small stream but not much else had changed.

There was still debris everywhere, collapsed houses, and the air was filled with dust –  the remains of people's houses. But there were more tents in the area and in the central plaza there was a volunteer youth group from Lima handing out clothes, blankets and aid.

I went back to the once pretty high street and the demolished houses were still there, nobody daring to enter them for fear of full collapse. Mud had simply been shovelled to one side, next to the destroyed houses.

People seemed remarkably upbeat. The truth is though that Lucre and the other affected villages are in a terrible state. There are many people living in tents, with little in the way of food and clothes, but the big problem is the harvest has been ruined. These villagers have no income and no food, and this is going to affect them for at least the next year, possibly longer if the ground does not recover.

President Alan Garcia has decided for political reasons – and to make Peru look better on the world stage – to donate 10 million dollars to the Haiti fund to improve the life for kids and improve water distribution there. Clearly there is a problem in Haiti, but you would have thought that after declaring the Cusco region a state of emergency that he would have helped his own people – and voters – first.

There are 100,000 people affected by the floods in Peru and the longer-lasting effect of crop failure will be felt for a long time to come.

One of the other problems is the lack of clothes: houses collapsed so fast the people there had no time to rescue any of their processions. They also lost books and pens. Families now have to buy these, but with no income from the crops this year they will not be able to afford anything.

The nights are starting to turn colder now as well and warm jackets are a necessity; being in the southern hemisphere, Peru is now moving into winter.

Aid is arriving but it's being spread thin as there are so many other villages with similar problems throughout the region.

And they are still in need of tents. The school in Lucre is actually shut for the holidays but in a few weeks, the kids will be back to school, forcing the families out to look for alternative shelter.