A state of emergency has been declared in nearly 800 municipalities in Peru, covering about 40% of the country, due to the “imminent risk” of heavy rainfall linked to the El Niño phenomenon, the government announced today.

More than 9.3 million Peruvians are at high risk of flooding and landslides, according to the National Center for the Assessment, Prevention, and Mitigation of Disaster Risks (Cenepred). “We have declared a 60-day state of emergency in 796 communities due to the heavy rains we are expecting,” the Presidency of the Council of Ministers noted in a statement.

Peru Declares State of Emergency in 40% of the Country Due to El Niño Rainshttps://t.co/6VrG9EwmZ8

— CNN Brasil (@CNNBrasil) July 2, 2026

Peru has a total of 1,800 municipalities. With the declaration of a state of emergency, regional and local authorities, in coordination with Civil Protection and with the support of the state, are authorized to take emergency measures to protect the population and infrastructure. The agency monitoring the El Niño phenomenon in Peru has upgraded its assessment of the intensity with which the phenomenon is expected to affect the country from “moderate” to “strong.”

This year’s El Niño could become one of the strongest on record

According to experts, this year’s El Niño could become one of the strongest on record. Temperatures were particularly high in June in the central and eastern Pacific, the region along the equator, according to the European Copernicus Marine Center. In the coastal regions of Peru, temperatures reached as high as 26 degrees Celsius—five degrees above the seasonal average.

In 2023, floods and landslides exacerbated by El Niño claimed the lives of 99 people in Peru. Extreme weather events are expected due to El Niño.