Attachments
What happened, where and when?
On 5 March, Supreme Decree No. 026-2025-PCM was published, declaring a State of Emergency in several districts across the provinces of Amazonas, Áncash, Apurímac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cusco, Huancavelica, Huánuco, Ica, Junín, La Libertad, Lima, Moquegua, Pasco, Piura, Tacna, Tumbes, and Ucayali due to the damage caused by intense rainfall.
The declared State of Emergency has both a preventive and reactive nature, considering the evolution of the ongoing emergency caused by heavy rainfall. In the case of Tumbes, the decree was issued following substantial damage to the population and infrastructure due to intense precipitation. In contrast, in the other districts and regions covered by the declaration, rainfall is ongoing, with increasing intensity and a high likelihood of future impacts, according to SENAMHI.
Preliminary assessments indicate varying degrees of impact in other areas. In Piura, as of 27 February, heavy rains in Canchaque, Huancabamba Province, affected 606 people, left 65 displaced, destroyed one house, rendered 30 uninhabitable, and damaged 343 others. In Lima, as of 3 March, heavy rains in San Bartolomé, Huarochirí Province, triggered the activation of the Agua Blanca ravine, leading to landslides and debris flows that caused material damage to homes and temporary disruptions to roads. The levels of impact are still being assessed by the authorities.
As the emergency evolves, additional reports of damage continue to emerge. However, the scale of the impact in these areas remains lower than in Tumbes, where more than 8,000 people have been affected, making it the region with the greatest need for humanitarian assistance.
Due to the weakening of the South Pacific Anticyclone, precipitation has intensified along the northern coast of Peru since 22 February, leading to a significant increase in rainfall.
On 1 March 2025, this heavy rainfall caused the Tumbes River to overflow, with a flow rate surpassing 2,139 m³/s. The flooding severely impacted homes and crops in communities such as Cerro Blanco, San Juan de la Virgen, Oidor, Rica Playa, San Jacinto, Tacuaral, Pampa Grande, and Aguas Verdes in the Tumbes Region. The flooding also led to the closure of the Pan-American highway between Corrales and Tumbes, and restricted access to the Tumbes bridge.
On 2 March, extreme rainfall continued for ten hours across all three provinces of the Tumbes Region, triggering the activation of ravines and further increasing the river's flow. This caused water infiltration at the regional hospital and health facilities, the collapse of the sewage system, and a disruption of water services in Tumbes city. On the same day, the Tumbes Region was declared in a State of Emergency for 60 calendar days. This decision was formalized through Regional Council Agreement No. 016-2025/GOB.REG.TUMBES-CRCD, in response to recent events caused by heavy rainfall, which has led to the overflow of the Tumbes River.
On 3 March, the Zarumilla River also overflowed, accompanied by heavy rains and thunderstorms in the provinces of Zarumilla and Tumbes. This caused flooding in the Aguas Verdes District and also led to the overflow of the international canal.
On 6 March, extreme rainfall affected again the province of Zarumilla, with seven continuous hours of heavy rain in the Papayal and Matapalo areas, resulting in severe flooding.
Additionally, thunderstorms occurred in both Tumbes and Zarumilla provinces, lasting for nine hours. According to the seasonal forecast from the National Meteorology and Hydrology Service of Peru (SENAMHI) for March-May 2025, rainfall in the northern and central coast is expected to range from normal to above-normal levels.
Moreover, the Multisectoral Commission for the National Study of the El Niño Phenomenon (ENFEN) has activated Coastal El Niño Watch in the Niño 1+2 region due to the potential for a weak and short-lived warm event. Weak warm conditions are expected to persist in March, leading to moderate to heavy rainfall in Tumbes and Piura, as well as above-normal precipitation in the Andean and Amazon regions.
There is a 48% probability that these conditions will continue until April, influenced by factors in the western Pacific and the South Pacific Anticyclone.