Statistics regarding Peru's crisis

My thanks to a reader who saw and sent us this article on UPI news.

The statistics are staggering but they don't tell the whole story. Food prices in Chiclayo and I imagine much of Peru are skyrocketing because transportation is disrupted. This morning at a small corner market a handful of broccoli that usually costs 10 cents was priced at 35 cents. The same was true for other food items.

The Peruvian air force has started flights to transport people in emergency situations to and from Trujillo, Piura, Chiclayo and Lima. The Pan American highway along the entire coast is blocked in many locations by water and or mudslides. Only a trickle of trucks and buses have somehow been able to get through to various cities. Helicopters are delivering food and water to villages that are completely cut off.

It's difficult to watch news out of Lima continuously showing the latest disasters...houses, hotels, buses, and this morning a large segment of railroad track disappear into a raging stream of mud. Many people are accusing the government of not taking enough preventive measures. I don't agree. If the government last year had not done millions of dollars of riverbed and canal dredging and adding concrete banks to waterways, this disaster could have been much worse.