Mudslides in Peru

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

I am sure that many of you have heard of the mudslides in the Cusco region of Peru, more familiarly known as the Machu Picchu area.  The news reported the large amount of tourists that were stranded.  It was on the news for maybe a couple days, but lives are affected forever. This is a very important issue, as there were thousands of tourists trapped with minimal food and water.  However, what was harder to find, was information regarding the thousands of Peruvians that had lost their homes.  Here are some of the facts of the mudslide:

Machu Picchu is one of the most popular destinations for tourists in Latin America, attracting more than 400,000 visitors a year. The 15th-century Inca fortress is located on a high mountain ridge 40 miles from Cusco. A railway that transports tourists to the site was covered by a mudslide. Normally the wet season in this region ranges from December to February. However, this year they started in early November and in the first few weeks of January they were the heaviest they’ve been in 15 years. The rivers in the Cusco region have swollen and burst their banks flooding adjacent low-lying villages and causing damage to bridges and the railway line between Aguas Calientes (the town closet to Machu Picchu) and Ollantaytambo (in the Sacred Valley). Many areas of the railway, which is the only mode of transportation between the two cities, have been severely damaged and some wiped out all together. Homes, bridges, fields, and roads have been very hard hit, affecting people’s livelihoods dramatically.  The homes of over 2,000 people in poor rural areas — many of them riverside dwellings made of clay and straw — had been destroyed or damaged. Another 12,000 people were affected to a lesser degree, losing possessions or suffering property damage. Most of the damage has happened in the southern valley of the Cusco region. Especially right now with Machu Picchu being closed and tourism near zero, many people are suffering from lack of work as well.

PLAY it Forward was very alarmed to hear of this news, not only because we have a scheduled trip this May, but also because we are concerned for the well-being of people around the world.  Donations are always nice. However, because we prefer hands-on, tangible ways to help, we will be helping in the disaster relief. Continuing to give back in the places we play.

Nikki Williams

Tags: Adventure travel, Cusco, International Travel, Machu Picchu, Mudslides, Outdoor Adventure, Peru, Volunteer Vacation
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