We survived the unexpected force of the unnatural disaster caused by a natural phenomenon. What I mean, is that, in many parts of the world, the amount of rain we recieved over the last week, would have done little damage, but here in the desert city of Chiclayo, it is a different story. Unprepared for rains, with no drainage system, high poverty rates and many homes built of adobe or other materials not meant to withstand extreme weather, thousands of homes collapsed in ruins. Just a block and a half from our house, a neighbor's roof collapsed.
The city was without electricity for a time and without running water for days. Sewage pipes broke and streets were filled with contaminated waste. While rain streamed through fissures in our roof and rushed down the stairs from our roof the first few nights before my father-in-law helped secure our apartment, we have nothing to complain about. We lived on the fringes of the disaster, isolated in a bubble, unable to truly comprehend the horrors that others expereienced.
While water still stands, mosquitos breed, and a stench fills the air, people are picking up the pieces of their lives and moving forward. Businesses are resuming their normal hours, but there's still a tension in the air as all wonder if it is completly over.
For a video with footage of flooding in Chiclayo you can watch; http://www.americatv.com.pe/cuarto-poder/reportaje/emergencia-chiclayo-lluvias-inundaciones-y-alerta-sanitaria-noticia-64680
The photos below show Iris and me just outside our house after the first of five consecutive nights of rain.
The city was without electricity for a time and without running water for days. Sewage pipes broke and streets were filled with contaminated waste. While rain streamed through fissures in our roof and rushed down the stairs from our roof the first few nights before my father-in-law helped secure our apartment, we have nothing to complain about. We lived on the fringes of the disaster, isolated in a bubble, unable to truly comprehend the horrors that others expereienced.
While water still stands, mosquitos breed, and a stench fills the air, people are picking up the pieces of their lives and moving forward. Businesses are resuming their normal hours, but there's still a tension in the air as all wonder if it is completly over.
For a video with footage of flooding in Chiclayo you can watch; http://www.americatv.com.pe/cuarto-poder/reportaje/emergencia-chiclayo-lluvias-inundaciones-y-alerta-sanitaria-noticia-64680
The photos below show Iris and me just outside our house after the first of five consecutive nights of rain.
Gosh. How much rain did you get? The streets look a mess. Glad you survived.
ReplyDeleteI really don't know how much rain we got, but I honestly think it was less than 3 inches, although it seems crazy that so little could make such a mess, but even with very little rain at other times there is work to do to clean up.
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