Peru declares state of emergency in 40 percent of districts ahead of El Niño rains

Government launches 60-day emergency to address very high-risk conditions in districts

A worshipper stands on a pier during a procession celebrating the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, honouring Saint Peter as the patron saint of fishermen and carrying the statue of the saint on their boats into the ocean, in Lima, Peru, Jun 29, 2026. REUTERS/Alessandro Cinque

Peru's government declared a state of emergency in 796 districts —about 40 percent of the country's total— citing imminent danger from heavy rains associated with El Niño weather phenomenon, according to a government decree published Thursday.

The 60-day measure enables the government to carry out extraordinary measures and actions to reduce the "very high" risk the districts are facing.

• The emergency, established by a decree singed by outgoing president Jose Maria Balcazar, spans regions including Lima, Cusco or Arequipa.

• Regional and local governments will implement the emergency measures in coordination with national authorities, the decree stated.

• The measures implemented during the state of emergency will be financed from existing institutional budgets of the agencies involved, without requiring additional resources from the public treasury.

• El Niño is a periodic warming of Pacific Ocean surface temperatures that disrupts global weather patterns, often bringing drought to some crop-producing regions and heavier rains to others.