LIMA, Peru – Nearly 6,000 people have been forced to flee flooded homes in the northern jungle after seasonal rains caused several rivers to overflow their banks, Peru's Civil Defense said Wednesday.
The Huallaga, Tulumayo, Tigre, Marona, Frejol and Sungaruyacu rivers all contributed to the flooding Tuesday in Huanuco province, some 220 miles northeast of the capital, Lima.
Civil Defense spokesman Jorge Arguedes told The Associated Press that 5,930 people from several communities fled to higher ground and that 95 homes had been irreparably damaged.
No injuries were immediately reported, he said, however authorities were checking unconfirmed reports of four people missing.
Local television broadcast images of residents wading through waist-high waters. A Civil Defense report said some people trapped by the rising flood were rescued by a police helicopter.
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