Live
Audio Only
Peru has been dealing with severe weather since at least December, which has devastated hundreds of thousands of Peruvians.
Following Peru’s deadly floods that have killed at least 94 and left at least 700,000 more homeless, Cuba will be sending a solidarity medical brigade to the country to aid in emergency efforts.
RELATED:
Over 72 Die in Peru Floods, Latin America Expresses Solidarity
The Cuban Embassy in Lima offered the Peruvian Foreign Ministry the services from the Henry Reeve Medical Brigade, which specializes in disasters and epidemics. The group will include 11 doctors, 10 health care professionals, an administrator, and a lead doctor. They will stay in the country for a month, equipped with medicine and supplies to treat thousands of people.
Cuba has extended its solidarity to Peru in the past, most notably in response to earthquakes Peru experienced in 1970 and 2007.
Last week, Cuban President Raul Castro sent his Peruvian counterpart, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, a message to express condolences to its regional neighbor.
Peru has been dealing with severe weather since at least December.
Most recently, four people have died when the Piura River overflowed Tuesday in Northern Peru. Some 500 people have also been evacuated from the region.
REUTERS:
Peru Devastated by Deadly Floods
Those hardest hit have been the poor, most notably Peruvians who built their homes on cheap land near the river, which runs from Peru's central Andes to the Pacific coast.
"I lost my sofas, my bed, my cupboards, my children's documents ... there is nothing left," said Simeona Mosquera, a local resident who was affected.
"All the things that cost me a lot of effort to earn went in no time at all," said Carlos Rojas, another resident. "There's no choice but to start again."
Newsletter
