In early 2017, the north of Peru was hit by very heavy rain, landslides and deadly floods. A state of emergency was declared on 29 March. Meanwhile, on 20 March 2017, INRAE was approached by the COGIC (Centre Opérationnel de Gestion Interministérielle des Crises) of the Ministry of the Interior following a request from the ERCC (European Union Emergency Response Coordination Centre).

The aim was to propose an expert to join the Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team in Lima, commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Geneva, to provide expertise in identifying and assessing secondary environmental risks and the impact of flooding on the environment.

UNDAC teams intervene, at the request of an affected country, to assess and coordinate disaster and humanitarian emergency situations.

At INRAE, Maria-Helena Ramos, head of hydrology research in the HYCAR research unit, will be joining the UNDAC team in Peru as an environmental expert. On site, she has helped to collect and analyse data from the affected population in order to assess their needs in terms of drinking water, sanitation, food, health, rehousing and protection. This data will be used to assess the scale of the crisis and define strategic humanitarian priorities.

Maria-Helena Ramos has completed her mission to identify and assess environmental risks. The field report was supplemented by several contacts with local players, including the national hydrometeorological forecasting service, which also led to the initiation of a major collaboration1 with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).

The priority actions recommended in its final report focused on wastewater treatment and solid waste management, with the deployment of efficient collection systems and appropriate infrastructure, as well as, in the longer term, the mapping of high-risk areas to strengthen regional planning and resilience strategies in the face of natural hazards.

His assessment is very positive: “This experience has been enriching from many points of view. The fact that we were able to complete a mission in just a few hours, and experience a humanitarian application of our work on flood forecasting and impact, is very encouraging”.