Peru & Chile devastated by flood torrents - BBC News

The scale of the flooding has been difficult to believe In South Western Peru it almost submerged this bridge Further North The rain brought down this land slide right in front of emergency workers The country's president has declared a state of emergency here With world flood communities are cut off and supplies are running low Further South in neighboring Chile The rain is still causing trouble Copiapó is the capital of the Atacama Region Normally one of the driest places on Earth It normally gets better sense to meet the rain per year Not this year It's taken the authorities completely by surprise Since yesterday morning until today We've been calling, calling,calling There's no chance of help from anyone We don't see even any vehicle on the road So right now I'm surrounded by mud Some help is getting through But helicopters are the only way to get around and they are overwhelmed Here they rescue people trapped in a collapsing house This water should've fallen the snow high up in the mountains instead because the weather is unusually warm it's falling as rain This storm has been the heaviest for at least 80 years Meanwhile other parts of Chile are suffering from drownings The chaotic weather is testing the country's resilience and forecast is saying it could get even worse in the next few months Bill Haydon, BBC News