Peru. Extensive landslide. Over a dozen dead, houses buried in the ground

The southern regions of Peru were hit by a very large landslide on Sunday. According to preliminary estimates, dozens of houses were destroyed and several people lost their lives. The president of the country, Dina Boluarte, flew to the place.

At least 15 people have died after a landslide in southern Peru on Sunday, authorities said. 20 people were injured and two are missing. According to estimates, dozens of houses in the village of Secocha were engulfed by masses of earth, mud and dust. About 310 buildings are believed to be damaged.

The video released by Reuters shows a river of mud, rocks and debris flowing through the region. Around you can see houses and buildings destroyed by the element. In the aerial photos, you can see large swaths of nearby hills that have been stripped of all vegetation, and huge mounds of earth below. Until recently, people lived there.

“We can confirm that the homes of 90 percent of the affected families have been completely destroyed,” said William Alvarado, mayor of the Mariano Nicolás Valcárcel district, one of the hardest hit areas. He added that more than 1,000 families were affected by the tragedy.

On Tuesday, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte flew over the site of the landslide to see the damage with her own eyes. In a later press conference, she expressed her condolences to the families of the victims, assured them of government assistance, and promised immediate action, noting that support had arrived too late in previous landslides.

“Now we will show a big difference in this matter, so that we can recover as much as possible in the shortest possible time,” she said.

The landslide followed two months of intense domestic policy discussions, marked by often violent anti-government protests against Boluarte’s interim government.

Main photo source: PAP/EPA/Jose Sotomayor