The rains of March 2023
Piura Valley confirmed to be vulnerable to meteorological events.
San Francisco Creek as it
loaded on March 24th, 2023, between Sectors Palominos (at the
background) and Malingas, blocking the pass between Districts Tambograndé and Chulucanas. (Footage
provided by Jhony Dioses, verified by and distributed by FACTORTIERRA)
The Peruvian Government had
alerts of heavy to extraordinary rains since the second quarter of February 2023. That’s
why it declared a preventive emergency on March 3rd. The whole
northern half of peru was included in order to urge works preventing disasters,
especially at northern coast and sierra, according to forecasts of Peru’s National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology (Senamhi, as in Spanish).
Beginning at the north edge,
Tumbés Department already came with rains and overflows since February 2023
what isolated many towns, especially at the border with Ecuador. A little more to the south, at Lambayequé Department, Íllimo
District was brought down by continuous overflows of La
Leché River.
Amid them, in Piura
Department, the alert turned emergency when the first heavy rains started to
fall over Districts Lanconés, Tambograndé, and Chulucanas, on March 6th,
2023. Piura Metropolitan Area was also spanked by intense downpours
Up to then, meteorological
satellites showed cold humidity masses entering from the Amazon Basin,
breaking out storm conditions at Piura andes once they slammed the Pacific’s
warm humidity as the causes of bad weather. The trigger was yaku Cyclone.
Piura River flooding Piura
Street, Tambograndé City, On March 14th, 2023, while it overloaded.
(Footage provided by Mario encalada, verified and distributed by FACTORTIERRA)
The same critical point
Tambograndé City registered 5’5
inches of arain the night of March 7th, 2023, according to
senamhi. It’s 0’2 inches greater than
the rain causing the overflow that flooded Valleys of Medium and Lower Piura
between 26th and 27th March, 2017. The difference is that
rain didn’t fall over San Lorenzo Valley but Upper Piura.
Precisely, precipitations
registered right there added to San Lorenzo Valley, on March 13th
and 14th, 2023, overfed Piura River making it to grow to 1551 cubic
meters per second (m3/s) when it passed through Tambograndé on 15th
overnight. This same point registered, in the eve, 1492 m3/s what flooded the
whole south sector and the lowest part
of west sector where it flooded on March 3rd, 2017.
FACTORTIERRA: Part of Canchaqué Town was razed by a stream on March 15th,
2023.
On March 12th, 2023,
Tambograndé already saw signs of an overfed Piura River – 1100 m3/s but no
flood. The alert threshold activates at
1200 right here.
For March 16th overnight,
Piura River registered 1664 m3/s when it passed below Sanchez Cerro Bridge,
between Cities of Piura and Castilla. Authorities issued the Orange alert,
however the river held into its course. At the moment, this was the major load
of this flow as 2023 went on.
Although Piura River didn’t
raised until 3400 m3/s of March 27th, 2017, the load of March 17th,
2023 means not necessarily it had been to the half of that record. It remains to
learn how the sedimentation of the
river floor has raised it so much that one only much lower overflow can cause
floods.
When a river is sedimenting,
it goes accumulating mud layers setting one over another reducing its depth. If
it’s not prevented, the process continues along the time depending on how much
water and mud has carried the flow on.
FACTORTIERRA: why is Piura Basin highly vulnerable?
The rain falling over Carrión
Village overfeeds a nearby creek that leads to Chira River, in Lanconés District.
The rain footage was taken on March 23th, 2023, and the creek footage was taken
on March 20th, 2023. (Footage provided by Carlos Arceles, verified
and distributed by FACTORTIERRA)
Rosen alert
On March 17th, 2023, Peru’s
National Survey for el Niño Phenomenon (Enfen, as in Spanish) issued a warning of
a weak el Niño event for remaining March that could extend to May. Senamhi previewed
that winds of Pacific pulled hot water toward Peruvian and Ecuadorian shores – Kelvin
Waves.
Also, Senamhi warned if the sea continued warm in southern fall and winter 2023, it was expected a heavy El Niño event for
southern summer 2024. Those events happen when the sea surface warms up over
79ºF in front of Piura Shores,and the sea registered over 81ºF in front of
Paita and 82ºF in front of Talara.
Isolated
On March 23rd, 2023,
Tambograndé District registered again a heavy rain that fulfilled the flow of San Francisco Creek. The community was already isolated on the Chulucanas-Tambograndé
Road since beginning that month.
Toward the north, Carneros
Creek has also activated. Toward the south, it happened the same with Pac’cha
and Sol-Sol Creeks. That reminded Malingas population their claim to build 11
bridges from Tambograndé City to Morropón City, 49 miles one to another.
Peru’s Home, Construction,
and Sanity Minister Hania Pérez de Cuéllar arrived four days later to deliver
government relief. She didn’t give further information about the bridges
although it was learned that Tambograndé District Municipality and ProVias Nacional, an agency of
Transportation and Communications Ministry, were already surveying alternative
ways.
Also, it rained heavy over
Sullana Metropolitan Area on 23rd. The Canal Via, that is really the
channeling of Cieneguillo and Cola del Alacran Creeks, increased its load
leaving two peasant bridges serving the store markets of Sullana and Bellavista
Cities out of service.
Finally, on March 27th, 2023,
the Peruvian Government declared Departments Tumbés, Piura, and Lambayequé at
the highest alert level. Its response capability was overcame, it could ask for
international help.
The last week of March
continued to be prodigal in heavy rains, and according to the forecasts, they
were going to extend until the next month.
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