Recent cold weather in the Ayacucho region of south-central Peru is being blamed for the deaths of up to 180,000 alpacas.

These usually hardy animals appear to have been made vulnerable to the cold weather by a series of ongoing environmental factors.

Much of the region has been experiencing drought conditions since August last year. Lack of water in lagoons had a direct effect on the alpacas' breeding season.

Lack of rainfall also resulted in stunted grass growth, so the animals have endured poor grazing for several months, weakening them further.

Large numbers of deaths of alpacas, and the other South American camelids - llamas, vicunas and guanacos - are not unknown.

Outbreaks of extremely cold air from the Antarctic, known as friagens, occur during the winter months. The friagen of 2003 killed more than half of all the country's alpacas when temperatures plunged to minus 35 Celsius. Last winter's cold weather reportedly killed 50,000 alpacas in the southern Puno region.

The fact that these deaths have occurred in the summer months do make it very unusual, but alpacas are not quite as tough as people often think.

They are not particularly good at foraging in cold or snowy weather. They also do not carry much body fat and their coats contain no water-resistant lanolin.

In recent days, there have been reports of heavy rain in the region. It may be that the animals' coats have been penetrated by water, making them vulnerable to the combination of low temperatures and strong winds.

Alpaca wool is a major export in Peru. More than $150m of fleeces are sent abroad each year. </s> LIMA, PERU—The number of people killed in Peru following intense rains and mudslides wreaking havoc around the Andean nation climbed to 67 Friday, with thousands more displaced from destroyed homes and others waiting on rooftops for rescue.

Across the country overflowing rivers caused by El Nino rains damaged 115,000 homes, collapsed 117 bridges and paralyzed countless roadways.

“We are confronting a serious climatic problem,” President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said in a statement broadcast live Friday afternoon. “There hasn’t been an incident of this strength along the coast of Peru since 1998.”

The highly unusual rains follow a series of storms that have struck especially hard along Peru’s northern coast, with voracious waters inundating hospitals and cemeteries, and leaving some small villages entirely isolated. On Thursday, the National Police rescued eight people who had been trapped for three days in Cachapampa and removed the body of an 88-year-old man killed in the floods. In the highlands of La Libertad, dramatic video showed crashing water inundating several buses and trucks, killing at least five people. Rescuers were searching survivors Friday.

Even in Peru’s capital city of Lima, where a desert climate seldom leads to rain, police had to help hundreds of residents in an outskirt neighbourhood cross a flooded road by sending them one-by-one along a rope. The muddy water channelled down the street after a major river overflowed. Some residents left their homes with just a single plastic bag carrying their belongings. </s> A new round of unusually heavy rains has killed at least a dozen people in Peru and now threatens flooding in the capital.

The new floods and mudslides over the past three days follow a series of other storms and officials say that a total of 62 people have died and 12,000 homes have been destroyed so far this year.

Authorities said Thursday they expect the intense rains caused by the warming of surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean to continue another two weeks. </s> LIMA, Peru (AP) - A new round of unusually heavy rains has killed at least a dozen people in Peru and now threatens flooding in the capital.

The new floods and mudslides over the past three days follow a series of other storms and officials say that a total of 62 people have died and 12,000 homes have been destroyed so far this year.

Authorities said Thursday they expect the intense rains caused by the warming of surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean to continue another two weeks.

Schools nationwide are suspending classes and in the capital of Lima, the swelling Huaycoloro river swept away two trucks and threatens to destroy a bridge.

President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said late Wednesday that authorities are prepared to provide shelter and relief to those left homeless. </s> LIMA, Peru (AP) — The number of people killed in Peru following intense rains and mudslides wreaking havoc around the Andean nation climbed to 67 Friday, with thousands more displaced from destroyed homes and others waiting on rooftops for rescue.

Across the country overflowing rivers caused by El Nino rains damaged 115,000 homes, collapsed 117 bridges and paralyzed countless roadways.

“We are confronting a serious climatic problem,” President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said in a statement broadcast live Friday afternoon. “There hasn’t been an incident of this strength along the coast of Peru since 1998.”

The highly unusual rains follow a series of storms that have struck especially hard along Peru’s northern coast, with voracious waters inundating hospitals and cemeteries, and leaving some small villages entirely isolated. On Thursday, the National Police rescued eight people who had been trapped for three days in Cachipampa and removed the body of an 88-year-old man killed in the floods. In the highlands along the department of La Libertad, dramatic video showed crashing water inundating several buses and trucks, killing at least five people. Rescuers were searching Friday for survivors.

Even Peru’s capital city of Lima, where a desert climate seldom leads to rain, police had to help hundreds of residents in an outskirt neighborhood cross a flooded road by sending them one-by-one along a rope. The muddy water channeled down the street after a major river overflowed. Some residents left their homes with just a single plastic bag carrying their belongings.

In total, more than 65,000 people in nearby Huachipa were unable to either go to work or return to their properties.

“There’s no way to cross,” said Henry Obando, who was rescued after leaving the factory where he works and making his way toward a rooftop where officers created a zip-line to cross. “Many people are trying to get to their homes.”

The storms are being caused by a warms of the surface waters in the Pacific Ocean and are expected to continue for another two weeks. Kuczynski declared Peru’s Central Highway in a state of emergency Friday and announced he would be boosting funds for reconstruction. He said he was optimistic the country was in a strong position to make a swift recovery but urged resident to use caution.

“This hasn’t ended,” he warned. “And it will continue for some time more.”

In 1998, another El Nino event brought heavy rainfall to the nation’s coast, causing landslides, ripping apart homes and leaving hundreds dead.

Associated Press writer Christine Armario in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report. </s> LIMA, Peru — The number of people killed in Peru following intense rains and mudslides wreaking havoc around the Andean nation climbed to 67 Friday, with thousands more displaced from destroyed homes and others waiting on rooftops for rescue.

Across the country overflowing rivers caused by El Nino rains damaged 115,000 homes, collapsed 117 bridges and paralyzed countless roadways.

“We are confronting a serious climatic problem,” President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said in a statement broadcast live Friday afternoon. “There hasn’t been an incident of this strength along the coast of Peru since 1998.”

The highly unusual rains follow a series of storms that have struck especially hard along Peru’s northern coast, with voracious waters inundating hospitals and cemeteries, and leaving some small villages entirely isolated. On Thursday, the National Police rescued eight people who had been trapped for three days in Cachipampa and removed the body of an 88-year-old man killed in the floods. In the highlands along the department of La Libertad, dramatic video showed crashing water inundating several buses and trucks, killing at least five people. Rescuers were searching Friday for survivors.

Even Peru’s capital city of Lima, where a desert climate seldom leads to rain, police had to help hundreds of residents in an outskirt neighbourhood cross a flooded road by sending them one-by-one along a rope through choppy waters. The muddy current channeled down the street after a major river overflowed. Some residents left their homes with just a single plastic bag carrying their belongings.

In total, more than 65,000 people in nearby Huachipa were unable to either go to work or return to their properties.

“There’s no way to cross,” said Henry Obando, who was rescued after leaving the factory where he works and making his way toward a rooftop where officers created a zip-line to cross. “Many people are trying to get to their homes.”

The storms are being caused by a warms of the surface waters in the Pacific Ocean and are expected to continue for another two weeks. Kuczynski declared Peru’s Central Highway in a state of emergency Friday and announced he would be boosting funds for reconstruction. He said he was optimistic the country was in a strong position to make a swift recovery but urged residents to use caution.

“This hasn’t ended,” he warned. “And it will continue for some time more.”

In 1998, another El Nino event brought heavy rainfall to the nation’s coast, causing landslides, ripping apart homes and leaving hundreds dead.

On Friday, drinking water was cut off throughout most of Lima, spiking the price for bottled water and creating long lines at city tanks. U.S. Embassy helicopters typically used to eradicate coca crops in the Amazon were redirected to help in rescue efforts.

“People are desperate,” said Doris Meza, who lives in one of the Lima districts most heavily inundated by the floods. “Water is entering everyone’s homes. There aren’t cars and drivers are charging whatever they want.” </s> A herd of sheep is seen, after great snowfall at the outskirts of Coyhaique city, south of Chile June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Alvaro Vidal

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Intense rains and snowstorms in central and southern Chile have left four people dead and nearly 3,000 homeless, as well as hundreds of thousands without power, authorities said on Saturday.

Most of those displaced live in the southern region of Biobio, where rivers overflowed and 34,000 lost power. Authorities said they were continuing to monitor the storm front, which first hit the country on Thursday night.

The South American country’s largest copper mines, mostly located in the north, have not reported any impact on operations from the storm. Chile is the world’s largest producer of the red metal. </s> "We have never seen anything on this scale, never in the history of Chile," President Michelle Bachelet, who has declared a state of emergency, said earlier this week.

"The truth is that the forces are doing everything humanly possible and will continue until they can contain and control the fires."

Many of those killed are firefighters battling more than 100 separate fires, about half of which are still uncontrolled, according to government reports.

Bachelet said she planned to meet with the intelligence heads of police and armed forces to discuss the investigation into the cause.

"Because there are multiple points of origin, we cannot dismiss the possibility that there might be an intentional component here," she said Thursday in Santiago. Forest fires consume parts of the community of Vichuquen in Chile's Maule Region. "We are strongly following this and have been investigating it for some days, and I want to know how far we've gotten." The blazes, which began nearly two weeks ago, have spread quickly amid historically high temperatures and an ongoing drought. Nearly 240,000 hectares (593,000 acres) -- about three times the size of New York City -- have burned. At least 10 people have died, many of them firefighters. France, Russia, the United States and Peru have sent international help to combat the fires following last week's declaration of a state of emergency in some of the worst-affected areas. Additionally, aid from Mexico and Colombia was expected to arrive this week. The US Embassy in Chile said this week that US Agency for International Development was donating $100,000 USD to the nongovernmental organization Caritas Chile for the purchase and delivery of firefighting equipment, such as chainsaws and weather monitoring tools. Additionally, the US Forest Service sent a four-member emergency response team of technical experts to work with local authorities. The town of Santa Olga was wiped out by the wildfires. The South America nation is vulnerable to earthquakes, forest fires, floods, and volcanic eruptions. In 2014, a wildfire swept through hundreds of homes in the Pacific coastal city of Valparaiso, leaving at least 12 dead, according to an official. At least 2,000 homes destroyed by the blaze and 8,000 people left without a place to live. </s> Severe drought has killed 110 people in Somalia in the past 48 hours, Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire said Saturday at a meeting of the Somali National Drought Committee.The death toll is specific to the Bay region of the country, but the United Nations estimates that as many as 5 million Somalis — roughly half the country's population — are in need of relief aid as ongoing drought conditions threaten widespread famine conditions.

One in three Somali children are at risk of dropping out of school, the U.N. reports. "I'd love to go back to school, but I've been forced to leave because I'm the eldest child in my family and I need to work at home," said Sadia Omar, who has already dropped out. "I fetch water and grass for the animals, but now because of the drought there is more work."

Cholera also "broke out in Goof-guduud, Awdiinle, and Berdale locations in Bay region," said Mohamed Fiqi, a state agriculture minister. "Children, women and old people are among the dead, the death toll increases." Bonnie Kristian
An estimated 180,000 alpacas are dead due to frigid temperatures and drought in Peru.