The landslides and mudslides occurred in the Arequipa region of the South American country. Governor Rohel Sanchez called the situation “very bad” in four villages in Nicolas Valcarcel district in particular. In the hills around these villages, miners are also said to have been swept away by the water.
Wilson Gutierrez, a civil defense officer in the Mariano Nicolás Valcárcel municipality of Camana province, told local radio RPP that 36 bodies had been recovered. The dead included five people riding in a van that was swept into a river by a mudslide.
An estimated 630 homes were rendered useless after the landslides, which also hit bridges, irrigation canals and roads. According to the governor, 12,000 people have been affected by the storm throughout Arequipa.