Situation in Cusco after floods [english]
An unusual rainy season caused the river basins of Cusco see grow its capacity at the highest historical levels, causing falls of bridges, platforms destroyed roads, highways and railways, housing losses (over 27,000 homes across the county) and tens of thousands of hectares of crops are damaged or lost. That is a situation of great gravity.
Emergence:
Civil defense systems were initially overwhelmed by the emergency, but quickly worked, some of them optimally.
The evacuation of 4.005 tourists of the town of Aguas Calientes (the nearest urban center of Machupicchu) has been really spectacular. Operations of 12 helicopters that carried up to 92 flights per day. After the first moments of disorder, was achieved with the participation of military rescuers and guilds of the private business sector, establish priorities and evacuation protocols
We salute the great courage and solidarity that became manifest in times of crisis.
The results of the crisis:
We have some bad news, that will definitely affect our business, There are 8 spots where it fell, it hung, or missing the train platform. There are large areas of road that have been affected.
However, there are solutions in the short and medium term in which they are working:
Difficulties:
It will take about 7 weeks from now, the restoration of the railway, for trips to Machu Picchu reliable, ie the south entrance of Machu Picchu.
It will take 3 weeks to restore the northern entrance road (from hot water to the hydroelectric power station). These two ratings will be responsible of Fetransa, the concessionaire of the railway.
There are also some stretches of highway that will be necessary to work, including access to Piscacucho from Ollantaytambo, which is where the first trains will run. Another critical route that the government is going to work as soon as possible is that of hydroelectric Santateresa, thence to St. Mary’s and from there to Ollantaytambo.
The good news:
The Government will grant emergency permits to companies to operate helicopters. Licenses will be given temporarily until the train is fixed. Words will not stop the sightseeing to Machupicchu. Naturally, the current demand is about 1,500 passengers a day. That will lower the ability of the helicopters, but at least there will be an alternative. Three companies have already announced they will request the route: Helicusco, Helisur, Heliand, as well as Peru Rail will also operate. It is true that the price will go up by an average of $ 300 to $ 500 more per pack, but at least you can make the visit. When roads are restored everything returns to normal.
Starting on Wednesday, 3 February we will have more detail about it.
The Northern route to Machu Picchu (Via Santa Teresa)
If the land route north is repaired, on schedule, we would have additional access to Machu Picchu in late February. Naturally, this route is not optimal, because it requires at least an overnight (ideally 2) in the area before the transportation is regularly by Teresa. Before announcing the operation of this route will have to see how secure is it.
The message to the operators and tourists:
Machu Picchu is absolutely intact. In more than 1000 years, no site built by ancient cultures has suffered landslides or mudslides, this is because the forecast was built in apparent places and putting drains. All that is in crisis are the accesses.
All the other places to visit, services, hotels, attractions, are fully operational.
Peru and Cusco itself have many other things to see, new experiences and a visit to Peru to visit Machu Picchu yet is not only possible, but extraordinary. Peru is a unique and wonderful.
The rain (the worst in more than 50 years) have ceased, and the capacity of the rivers are at historic levels.
There is a significant loss in rural households in areas of Cusco and Puno, it is channeling aid, but the government has the resources to restore the lost infrastructure. Some private infrastructure has been lost. However a large majority of services have not been damaged.
Source: Chamber of Commerce of Cusco.
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:40 pm
we are booked with peru tourism to tour machu picchu in 3rs week of april 2010.
i was very concerned about the route to machu picchu from cuzco. whether it will be operational by that time.esp. the vistadome train. would appreciate a regular status feedback.
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:54 am
All the restoration work began this week, and the engineers estimate that it will take between 7 to 8 weeks to restore the routes. There’s also another way to go to Machu Picchu, taking a helicopter, of course the prices will increase but at least there’s an alternative to go there.
I’m pretty sure that by the month of April all the routes to Machu Picchu will be reestablish.
We will keep you inform with all the latest news about Machu Picchu.
February 20th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
Hi, my name is John Cooper and I am the founder of Gawana.
In one sentence, Gawana aims to identify new and existing technologies with the specific aim to utilise them to create fresh new approaches to solving social and environmental issues.
I have been working with a team of people based in Urubamba to gain an evolving picture of the changing situation in the Cusco region after the floods. We are using an open source software called Ushahidi, used very successfully in Haiti to coordinate relief efforts.
The link to the site is – http://www.gawana.com/peru/ushahidi/?l=en_US
We would like anybody who visits the the affected area to speak to people, take photo and video images of the scenes you encounter. We need up-to-date information of the ever changing situation. This is an ongoing effort.
By having a central place where people can go to for the latest picture of the situation, will help all those involved coordinate their collective efforts.
You, or anybody who has access to the internet can submit incidents directly through the website, or by email to reporta@gawana.com
Together, I hope we can help the people of the Cusco region.
Best wishes,
John Cooper
Gawana Founder
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