January 26, 2010

I´m currently living in Kcauri which is about 2 hours away from the actual city part of Cusco. I stay here Monday thru Friday. On the weekends I make my way to the city to visit friends, go to church, and in general do errands. On my way back to Kcauri two days ago, my heart broke as the bus I was on slowed down to wait in a long line of cars and buses trying to make their way across a pool of water and mud that was knee high. To my left and right I saw what remained of what used to be people´s homes, crops...beautiful green land as far as the eye could see. Monday morning, rooftops and wooden doors half covered in mud (many of homes in the campo are made from mud brick) were the only proof that at one point, homes were there...as the rest of the buildings were literally swept away. To my right I saw pigs and livestock, dead on the side of the road. To my left, I saw crowds of people trying to help a family gather some last belongings from their home, which was already waist-high in water.

It is normal for it to be raining pretty regularly right now in Cusco but only at night. Today marks the fifth day of non-stop heavy rain, all day and all night. As a result, many of the rivers have overflowed, roads blocked due to mudslides and boulders. I heard on the news today that 2000 tourists were stranded in Machu Picchu because the railroad was blocked. They are either in the process of getting airlifted out or are already on their way home. Several bridges have been swept away along the Sacred Valley. I had to go back into Cusco early this morning for work stuff. On the way back to Kcauri again , I saw more of the damage of the heavy rain. There were people sitting on the side of the road, with all they had left at their side. On the radio on our way back, we heard that so far in Cusco, there have been 8 deaths and 50 left injured due the flooding and mudslides. There have also been a few deaths of tourists who were hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. The rain continues to pour.

I´m trying to read up on the latest right now online, but due to a very slow internet connection (I think this office is he only place that has internet in Kcauri) I´m not sure how possible that will be. I just read from BBC: A state of emergency has been declared in south-eastern Peru, where the authorities say up to 3000 people have had their homes destroyed. So please, pray. There are many people suffering...here in Cusco, other places in Peru where this is also happening, in Haiti, as well as other parts of the world. I´ll do my best to keep everyone updated on everything that is going on here.