The El Nino weather phenomenon, which is already affecting Peru with some rainfall and an unexpected rise in temperatures, could put more than one million people in regions vulnerable to climate change at risk, according to the civil defense office.

The head of the state-run Civil Defense Institute, Luis Vazquez, said on Wednesday (August 26) El Nino would likely become more intense starting in November, bringing flooding to towns and mud and rock slides in areas of at least 10 regions identified as the most affected by the weather event. "Historical data from all the regions we have that have been impacted by El Niño indicate that around 1,200,000 people could be affected and left homeless," said Vazquez.

Among the regions most vulnerable to El Nino are Tumbes, Piura, Lambayeque and La Libertad, located in the north of the country, where it could also cause major economic losses because they are agro-exporting areas, mainly for fruit.

In the past four decades, Peru has been hit several times by El Nino, which involves a slowdown in the trade winds that drives warming of the surface of the eastern Pacific Ocean, causing intense rains and droughts in various parts of Latin America and elsewhere in the world.

Vazquez said 536 "critical points," or areas of the country most sensitive to the weather event, have been identified, where prevention work is being carried out, such as dredging rivers that could overflow because of intense rainfall.

Last week, heavy rainfall associated with El Nino caused homes to flood in some districts of Lima and cut off stretches of highways in the south of the country, leaving lines of cargo vehicles and passenger buses stranded.

The impact of El Nino will not only cause rains and flooding on the country's coast, but also droughts in southern Andean areas such as Puno and Cusco, Vazquez said, adding that the government has declared a state of emergency in 796 districts because of the risk of rain and flooding, and in 607 districts because of a "water deficit."

Rains in Peru have already hit key economic sectors in the country, such as fishing and agriculture, whose sharp declines have slowed the growth of the local economy in recent months, according to official data.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

El Niño puts 1.2 million people at risk in Peru, civil defense office says

VIDEO SHOWS: GRAPHIC IMAGE SHOWING EL NINO WARMING PATTERN IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN / SOUNDBITES FROM OFFICIAL / ARCHIVE FOOTAGE OF FLOODS, LANDSLIDES

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: LIMA, PERU (ARCHIVE – MARCH 13, 2017) (REUTERS – Access all)

1. MUD CARRYING CONTAINER

2. PERSON COVERED WITH MUD GETTING OUT OF DEBRIS

HUARAL, LIMA, PERU (ARCHIVE – JANUARY 29, 2024) (PANAMERICANA TV – No use Peru / Must on-screen courtesy Panamericana TV)

3. FLOODWATER RUNNING THROUGH STREET

PIURA, PERU (ARCHIVE – APRIL 7, 2023) (PANAMERICANA TV – No use Peru / Must on-screen courtesy Panamericana TV)

4. PEOPLE BEING MOVED ON INFLATABLE TYRE IN FLOODED AREA

LIMA, PERU (ARCHIVE – MARCH 13, 2023) (REUTERS – Access all)

5. FLOODWATER RUNNING, DAMAGED HOUSES

MADRE DE DIOS, PERU (ARCHIVE – FEBRUARY 7, 2017) (MINISTRY OF DEFENSE – Access all)

6. AERIAL VIEW OF OVERFLOWING RIVER

OCONA, AREQUIPA, PERU (AUGUST 18, 2026) (AREQUIPA GOVERNMENT – Access all) (MUTE)

7. DRONE VIEW OF TRUCKS ON ROAD AFFECTED BY LANDSLIDE

LIMA, PERU (AUGUST 19, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all)

8. EXPERT SHOWING SEA TEMPERATURE GRAPH ON MONITOR

LIMA, PERU (AUGUST 26, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all)

9. VARIOUS OF CIVIL DEFENSE WORKERS AT THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTRE (COEN)

10. HEAD OF CIVIL DEFENSE INSTITUTE LUIS VAZQUEZ SPEAKING

11. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HEAD OF CIVIL DEFENSE INSTITUTE, LUIS VAZQUEZ, SAYING:

"Historical data from all the regions we have that have been impacted by El Niño indicate that around 1,200,000 people could be affected and left homeless. That is the scenario we are working with."

12. REPORTERS ASKING QUESTIONS

13. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HEAD OF CIVIL DEFENSE INSTITUTE, LUIS VAZQUEZ, SAYING:

"The scientific institutions on this multisectoral committee tell us that it will be an El Niño ranging from strong to extraordinary. We will wait to see how it continues to develop, but as I said, we are working on the scenario of an extraordinary El Niño in order to take the appropriate measures."

14. REPORTERS ASKING QUESTIONS

15. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HEAD OF CIVIL DEFENSE INSTITUTE, LUIS VAZQUEZ, SAYING:

"Let us remember that only a few months remain before the start of the rains that come with the El Niño phenomenon. So the idea now is, as I said, to reduce some vulnerabilities and mitigate the damage that could occur. But basically, the issue is that we have people who have settled in ravines and perhaps have never seen them become active. But ravines do become active at some point because of very heavy rains."

PUNO, PERU (ARCHIVE – APRIL 25, 2017) (REUTERS – Access all)

16. VARIOUS OF SNOWED-COVERED AREA

17. GIRL MOVING BUCKET WITH SNOW

18. VARIOUS OF DEAD ALPACAS

GRAPHIC (RELEASED AUGUST 26, 2026) (EUROPEAN UNION, COPERNICUS MARINE SERVICE DATA - Part must on-screen courtesy European Union, Copernicus Marine Service Data) (MUTE)

19. GRAPHIC SHOWING A RED-TONED BAND OF WARMER WATER STRETCHING ALONG CENTRAL AND EASTERN EQUATORIAL PACIFIC ILLUSTRATING THE EL NINO WARMING PATTERN