PERU - EARTHQUAKE: SITUATION REPORT #5

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 LIMA 002984 SIPDIS AIDAC SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE/WHA FOR WHA/AND, BTHOMAS STATE ALSO PASS TO USAID USAID/W FOR A/AID HFORE USAID/DCHA FOR MHESS, GGOTTLIEB AID/W for DCHA/OFDA DCHA/OFDA FOR KLUU, AFERRARA, ACONVERY, RTHAYER, SBISWAS DCHA/FFP WHAMMINK USAID/LAC FOR AA/LAC, LAC/SA, MKARBELING SAN JOSE FOR TCALLAGHAN NSC for TSHORTLEY, PMARCHAM BRUSSELS FOR USAID PLERNER GENEVA FOR NYKYLOH NEW YORK FOR TMALY USMISSION UN ROME FOR RNEWBERG E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PE XM XR ECON ETRD SENV ENRG USTR SUBJECT: PERU - EARTHQUAKE: SITUATION REPORT #5 REF: A) LIMA 2868 B) LIMA 2897 C) LIMA 2951 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY ¶1. (U) Summary. Between August 28 and 29, the USAID team, comprising representatives from USAID/Peru and USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA),conducted assessments of earthquake-affected districts in Huaytara Province, Huancavelica Region, and Yauyos Province, Lima Region. The USAID team concluded that the main needs of Huancavelica and Yauyos provinces are the rehabilitation of irrigation canals, which are crucial for the area's agriculture-based economy. In Yauyos Province, the team found that the districts of Chocos, Madean, and Vinac require shelter assistance. ¶2. (SBU) During an August 27 coordination meeting, the mayors from the affected districts of Pisco Province, Ica Region, confirmed priority needs in their districts, which include shelter, food, heavy machinery for rubble removal, and rehabilitation of irrigation canals. The USAID team emphasized that the meeting was crucial as a turning point in the response. Through this and subsequent meetings, the Government of Peru's (GOP) National Civil Defense Institute (INDECI) is working to empower districts' mayors, which for the most part were recently elected, to take leadership in providing damage assessment information and articulating the needs of their communities to the GOP and the international and national relief community. However, the USAID team noted that there is consensus between INDECI and relief agencies that the mayors' figures need to be more precise. End summary. -------------- Huaytara Province -------------- ¶3. (U) Located in the Andes Mountains, Huaytara Province is the largest in Huancavelica Region and has an estimated population of 24,500 people. On August 28 and 29, the USAID assessment team visited the districts of Huaytara, Huayacundo, and Cusicancha. The districts' mayors reported that 106 houses in Huaytara, 26 in Huayacundo, and 50 in Cusicancha are uninhabitable. However, the USAID team did not observe destroyed houses in these districts, although adobe houses showed some damage in the walls. The team saw no tents in the districts and noted that families are still living in their houses. In Huaytara District, the police station suffered extensive damage and is not functioning, while two schools have suffered damage, but remain operational. The high school in Huayacundo, which has 56 students, suffered extensive damage, with three out of five classrooms structurally deficient and unsafe to use. Cusicancha's school, which serves 145 students, also suffered extensive damage and is not operational. ¶4. (U) Local authorities from the three districts reported that the earthquake's main damage was to productive infrastructure, in particular, irrigation canals were damaged or destroyed. The water and electricity systems in all the districts visited are functioning. The team noted that the Pisco-Huaytara road was cleared following landslides resulting from the earthquake, but the Ministry of Transport and Communications is currently clearing the LIMA 00002984 002 OF 005 section of the road linking Huaytara to Ayacucho in the east. The roads to Huayacundo and Cusicancha did not have any damage. According to the USAID assessment team, the main needs in the districts visited are the establishment of temporary classrooms and the rehabilitation and reconstruction of irrigation canals. -------------- Yauyos Province -------------- ¶5. (U) In Yauyos Province, Lima Region, the team visited the districts of Cacra, Chocos, Azangaro, Madean, and Vinac, which have an estimated total of 1,620 houses. The team concluded that the districts of Chocos, Madean, and Vinac require assistance on shelter issues. In Chocos, 120 out of 250 houses, or 48 percent, were reported uninhabitable due to extensive damage. The team found that the quality of houses in Chocos was inferior to that of the other districts visited, suggesting that the district is poorer than neighboring ones. According to Vinac's mayor, more than 46 percent of houses - 200 out of 433 houses - are uninhabitable. The USAID team observed that some residents are sheltering in 10 small camping tents in the district's main square; the mayor reported that other families are also living in this type of tent in other areas of the district. ¶6. (U) In Madean, the mayor reported that more than 25 percent of houses are uninhabitable, and the USAID tea observed extensive damage to houses in the neighborhood near the district's main square. Azangaro's mayor reported that more than 25 percent of the district's houses are uninhabitable. However, based on observation, the USAID team could not confirm damage to that extent. Cacra's houses suffered the least damage, with only 10 percent of houses reported uninhabitable. An assessment of damage to schools in the districts is ongoing, according to the mayors. ¶7. (U) All the districts visited have access to water for human consumption. However, since landslides resulting from the earthquake damaged or buried a large proportion of irrigation canals in the highlands, many communities are using secondary sources, such as springs, to obtain drinking water. The team noted that the rehabilitation of the canals is important for restoring livelihoods in all the districts. Community leaders in Cacra emphasized this issue, noting that the community would be able to restore the canals with 50 bags of cement. Electricity and telephone services in all the districts visited are working normally. ¶8. (U) The team found that even prior to the earthquake, normal access to Chocos, Azangaro, Madean, and Vinac is via a track cut in the mountains; progress is slow under the best of circumstances. The 200 km round-trip journey from Canete District to the other surrounding districts took eight hours for the team to complete. On August 29, the team visited Cacra, which is approximately 90 km from Canete and closer than the other districts, but far more difficult to access. Debris and rocks had blocked the road to Cacra since the earthquake and the USAID team's vehicle was the first to enter the district after the road was cleared. The biggest concern for Cacra's population is the road. As producers of perishable products, such as avocados and plums, Cacra's residents depend on LIMA 00002984 003 OF 005 uninterrupted access to get the produce to market on time. The USAID team noted that the district's situation in this regard is precarious. -------------- Canete Province -------------- ¶9. (U) On August 29, the USAID assessment team attended a meeting of the mayors of the earthquake-affected districts of Canete Province and the Regional President of Lima. The mayors emphasized that their districts' greatest concern is classrooms, of which 255 are needed in the entire province. According to the mayors' reports, 1,900 out of 6,750 houses, representing 28 percent, in the province are uninhabitable. The USAID team observed extensive damage to housing in passing through Lunahuana and Zuniga districts, as well as downtown Canete. (Ref. A) (Note: On September 4, the USAID team visited Lunahuana and indicated that the district's water system is intermittently functioning with service provided on a rotating basis to different sectors of the district. District authorities reported that water service in the outlying towns is yet to be restored, and the district is providing water to these areas via a tanker truck. The GOP's temporary work program for earthquake-affected populations started in Lunahuana on September 3 and will employ approximately 25 people in each of the district's 10 outlying towns for 21 days. End note.) -------------- Pisco Province -------------- ¶10. (SBU) On August 27, USAID representatives attended a coordination meeting with the mayors of all the earthquake-affected districts of Pisco Province, including Huancano, Humay, Independencia, Paracas, Pisco, San Andres, San Clemente, and Tupac Amaru Inca. Other meeting attendees included staff from INDECI and representatives from the Ministries of Health, Women and Social Development, and Agriculture, as well as U.N. agencies. Each mayor reported on the latest numbers of affected people and damaged and destroyed houses, as well as main needs in his district. The USAID team emphasized that the meeting was crucial as a turning point in the response. Through this and subsequent meetings, INDECI is working to empower the mayors, which for the most part were recently elected, to take leadership in providing damage assessment information and articulating the needs of their communities to the GOP and the international relief community. However, the USAID team noted that there is consensus between INDECI and relief agencies that the mayors' figures need to be more precise. Following the meeting, General Luis Felipe Palomino, INDECI's Director, requested that the mayors verify the numbers provided. A few days later, the mayors recognized the weakness of their preliminary estimates and plan to take steps to provide more accurate figures. The National Institute of Statistics and Information's (INEI) ongoing census of the earthquake-affected regions will help strengthen the mayors' figures. ¶11. (U) In Pisco District - the province's largest with an estimated population of 80,000 - the main needs are food, shelter, LIMA 00002984 004 OF 005 and rubble removal, according to the mayor. ¶12. (U) In Independencia District, which has an estimated 15,000 people, the mayor reported that the main needs are tents, blankets, food, and psychosocial support. The mayor noted that heavy machinery is needed to rehabilitate irrigation canals as the main livelihood of the district's residents is agriculture. ¶13. (U) According to Huancano's mayor, 156 houses were destroyed and 390 were affected in the district, leaving 2,097 people in need of food, latrines, 300 tents, and 4,000 blankets. Two displaced persons camps in the district are sheltering 1,000 residents. The district's agriculture and livestock livelihoods were seriously affected, with the earthquake damaging or destroying 100 percent of the irrigation canals. (Note: These figures confirm those reported by the USAID assessment team on August 18 and 19. (Ref. A) End note.) ¶14. (U) In Humay, the mayor reported that affected families affected are living close to their houses as no temporary camps have been established. The population's main needs are tents, of which the mayor requested 1,000, and machinery to rehabilitate irrigation canals. ¶15. (U) In Paracas District, where the economy is driven by tourism and seafood restaurants, residents were affected by a 30-centimeter tsunami produced by the earthquake. The small tsunami affected the SIPDIS district's sewerage system and the tourism and seafood sector. (Note: The USAID team did not observe extensive infrastructure damage in Paracas. End note.) ¶16. (U) San Andres District's mayor reported that residents are sheltering in the displaced persons camp in the district's stadium. (Note: Ambassador McKinley visited the camp on August 29. (Ref. C) End note.) The mayor noted that the main needs are food, blankets, and tents. ¶17. (U) According to San Clemente's mayor, a large proportion of the 24,000 residents are affected and require water, food, blankets, tents, plastic sheeting, and psychosocial support. (Note: Ambassador McKinley visited San Clemente on August 29. (Ref. C) End note.) The mayor reported that the water system was damaged and the district, which has the second largest population in Pisco Province, requires assistance to provide water to residents. (Note: During an August 30 meeting with the USAID team, Ica's Regional President requested USAID assistance for San Clemente's water system. On the same day, the USAID team visited San Clemente, met with the mayor and INDECI's regional representative, and coordinated with the non-governmental organization Samaritan's Purse, which is currently providing assistance in the district. The team found that the Peruvian Red Cross is supplying water through tankers and the Peruvian company Ransa has provided a 30,000-liter water bladder. On the day of the team's visit, the Peruvian Red Cross brought two 7,000-liter bladders, donated by the Canadian International Development Agency, for water distribution in other sectors of the district. In addition, the Peruvian parastatal company Drinking Water and Sewerage Service of Pisco informed the USAID team that it planned to run tests of the water system to determine the extent of LIMA 00002984 005 OF 005 the damage on September 2 and 3. The USAID team plans to visit San Clemente on September 5 to evaluate the situation and determine whether additional assistance is necessary. End note.) ¶18. (U) In Tupac Amaru Inca District, the mayor reported that five displaced persons camps have been established. The district's main needs are food, tents, blankets, and plastic sheeting, as well as heavy machinery for rubble removal. ¶19. (U) Since the August 27 meeting, the districts' mayors have been in contact with national and international relief agencies to address the needs identified in their communities. MCKINLEY