Country profile

Peru is a an upper middle-income country that spans three climatic zones, ranging from its arid coastline to the Andes mountains and the Amazon rainforest. These zones are economically and culturally diverse, and also exposed to different hazards.

• Poor, small-scale herders in the Andes are threatened by extreme cold and snowfall, which threaten the health of their animals and contribute to respiratory illnesses in people.
• In El Niño years, intense rainfall often causes flooding in coastal areas, damaging homes, infrastructure and agricultural land. This disrupts livelihoods and results in disease outbreaks and human fatalities.
• Communities along the Amazon are at risk of slower-onset flooding that isolates communities, destroys crops and agricultural land, restricts access to clean water, and increases the incidence of mosquito-borne diseases.

Since 2015, the Peruvian Red Cross has been working to develop Early Action Protocols that protect people from these hazards. Peru is also exposed to earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and landslides, all of which can put people's lives in danger and cause significant damage to infrastructure and livelihoods.