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.

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Huaytara Province
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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.

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Yauyos Province
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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

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uninterrupted access to get the produce to market on time. The
USAID team noted that the district's situation in this regard is
precarious.

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Canete Province
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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.)

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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

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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