In the last week, massive raining in and around Cusco has done great damage. Landslides have destroyed homes, fields, roads, railway tracks, bridges and more. Many people have lost everything, keeping only the clothes they have on their back. Because much has been destroyed, the area has been declared a disaster zone. According to CNN, “An estimated 10,000 people have been affected by the rain and 2,000 homes have been ruined in and around Machu Picchu, authorities said.”

The landslides have also blocked walkways, roads and railway tracks in the area. About 2,000 tourists have been trapped in and around Machu Picchu, with the only transportation out being a helicopter. “Peru’s Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister Martin Perez said Wednesday that the elderly, children and pregnant women have priority for evacuation. He denied reports of preferential treatment for foreigners, saying 103 of 475 tourists evacuated Tuesday were Peruvian,” according to CNN.

In Cusco, you can hear the helicopters fly over the city, although the weather has made it hard to evacuate people. The last two days have been better, with less rain in Cusco, but what’s interesting is that there is actually surprisingly little impact on Cusco itself. Life goes on. Without the information about what’s happening around Cusco, I would never have thought the rain would have that big an impact on the area.

From over here, it’s hard to tell how big this is in the media in Europe and USA. But one thing is for sure: without the tourists the reporting, and maybe the help, would have been a lot less.

It is in a way odd to be so close to the disaster and have it minimally affect my everyday life in Cusco. It is a reminder that life is unfair. While I go to a restaurant or look for a Spanish school, less than 20 km from here someone is in the middle of a disaster.

To learn about how you can help, check out this blog post from the Peru-focused blog, Peruanista.