Huge Cracks Split the Ground in Peru

State of Emergency Declared in Peru after Huge Cracks in Ground Threaten Village

Deep cracks caused by heavy rains threaten to swallow village, terrify residents: Report

Peru has declared a state of emergency in part of the country after torrential rains caused deep cracks to appear in a village, terrifying residents, AFP reported.

The gaping crevasses have worsened over several weeks in the northern Ancash region, making some houses uninhabitable and prompting the government to declare a state of emergency.

The cracks looked similar to faults caused by earthquakes, but experts said heavy rains in March and April caused soil shifts and the expansion and contraction of earth, causing the ground to split.

“The earth does not shake, we saw a crack in the morning and in the afternoon it grew,” a resident in Socosbamba told the local TV station.

The initial state of emergency will last for 60 days, allowing the authorities to try and deal with the crisis, said the report.