Mudslides Leave Peruvians Stranded

Mud and rocks piled up to three feet high covers Peru's Zurite district on Saturday. This comes just days after tourists visiting the country were stranded by flooding. Those rescued were evacuated from the famous Machu Picchu Incan ruins.

Nearly 70 homes were destroyed or damaged by the mudslide. Authorities are sending in heavy machinery to help clear the streets, and give humanitarian aid for victims.

This is the second flood in Zurite in the past seven days, but this time things are worse.

[Witness]:
"It was really strong and our neighbor’s house was taken completely and then it came down onto my house."

Public buildings, such as the local medical centre, government offices and the Catholic church are badly damaged.

[Juan Antonio Ugarte, Cusco Archbishop]:
"I can see it is a lot more than I imagined. It is very serious. Many homes have been destroyed. You can't walk around without boots in the plaza and the area where the temple is."

Peru was hit by the heaviest rains that the region’s seen in 15 years. So far, the floods have stranded 4,000 tourists and killed five people.