Heavy rains and severe storm conditions have left 324 people damnificados, 808 affected, and 109 residential structures uninhabitable across the northern Peruvian region of Tumbes, according to the Centro de Operaciones de Emergencia Nacional.
The Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología del Perú recorded extreme accumulations, including 74.4 millimeters of rainfall in just three hours at the Cabo Inga station on Wednesday night. In the center poblado of Rica Playa in San Jacinto, intense storms reached an accumulation of 112.5 liters per square meter, triggering the activation of six local ravines, which flooded homes in nearby rural sectors.
ATENCIÓN A LAS FAMILIAS AFECTADAS POR LAS LLUVIAS INTENSAS La presidenta de la república, Keiko Fujimori, inspeccionó los albergues Villa Primavera y Chilimasa, en Tumbes, donde se habilitaron carpas para brindar protección y alojamiento a las familias afectadas por las intensas… pic.twitter.com/SQA58zEC8b
The severe weather, linked to coastal El Niño conditions and rising sea surface temperatures hovering around 27 degrees Celsius near the northern coast, brought torrential downpours and lightning.
Crops Flattened Across Zarumilla
In the Zarumilla province district of Aguas Verdes, high winds blowing in from the coast and Ecuador knocked down banana plantations, leaving roughly 600 hectares flat on the ground. Manuel Cedillo, president of the Central de Productores de Banano de Tumbes, told AP Noticias that we have an average, today we are evaluating an average of 600 hectares of bananas that are on the ground; all that production has been lost, affecting banana producers in this northern zone
as reported by AP Noticias.
The storms have severely disrupted agricultural production across the border region, where farmers report widespread crop destruction and impassable rural roads.
Further inland in the district of Papayal, local officials report that approximately 1,000 farmers are facing heavy losses out of 2,800 producers across the broader Zarumilla valley, who have collectively invested substantial sums into their current cycles. Elmer Saavedra, the mayor of Papayal, told RPP Noticias that a worker died after a banana transport truck overturned on a ruined road near the Puente de Pocitos, when the weight of the vehicle crushed him.
📣 #NotaDePrensa | #Minam #Senamhi 🌧️ SENAMHI pronostica lluvias intensas en Tumbes y Piura, y lloviznas en Lima Metropolitana 📲🔗 Conoce más: https://t.co/O5AY30knbR pic.twitter.com/JCVw8q4i0d
An agricultural worker told Infobase that they have not met with us. We are the ones truly affected, not the authorities who are sitting at a desk
according to Infobae. Growers voiced frustration during ministerial visits over a lack of direct local coordination.
Tumbes River Threatens Urban Centers
César Díaz Guevara, director of the local publication Tumbes 21, pointed out on RCR Peru that current management has installed double mechanical barriers in the gate of Mariscal Castilla street to control the entry of water.
In Tumbes city, the increase in the Tumbes River flow has raised fears of urban flooding, with concerns that water could enter urban areas, reminiscent of the 1998 event.
Minister of Defense Rafael Belaunde traveled to the Puerto Perú human settlement in Zarumilla to inspect temporary shelters erected by the Instituto Nacional de Defensa Civil and the Peruvian Army in Villa Primavera, where roughly 48 families displaced by the overflow of the Zarumilla River are currently housed. Personnel also evaluated the Gran Chilimasa educational facility as a potential shelter.
Nota de Prensa N.° 368-2026 | Ejército y otras instituciones continúan atendiendo en distritos de Tumbes por lluvias intensas. Entérate más ⤵️ https://t.co/qDXu4ojFb2
State agencies and military units have stepped up field operations across the flood zones.
Meanwhile, heavy machinery and motor pumps from the Ministerio de Vivienda and local municipalities cleared standing mud and water from key avenues, including the heavily flooded grounds of the Instituto Tecnológico José Abelardo Quiñones.
Hoy 6/11, ante las #LluviasIntensas en el departamento de Tumbes, personal de la 9na Brigada Blindada y la 1ra Brigada de Infantería del @EjercitoPeru, en coordinación con los gobiernos locales, realiza trabajos de limpieza de vías, descolmatación de canales y el traslado de… pic.twitter.com/4xerY8D1bN
Storms Threaten Northern Departments
The Senamhi maintains active alerts across northern departments, forecasting that high-to-extreme rainfall and electrical storms will persist across Tumbes and Piura through Sunday, November 8, 2026.