Perus President Ollanta Humala declared a state of emergency in an area affected by deadly mudslides east of Lima, on 25 March.

Heavy rains caused the mudslides, which left eight dead and blocked a main highway connecting Lima with the central part of the country.

Teams with food and water began arriving in affected districts and Humala visited the disaster zone overnight, overseeing the recovery work.

Heavy machinery removed mud, boulders and destroyed homes as rescue teams searched for survivors. Six people remain missing.

Regional Civil Defence Director, Benjamin Quijano, said explosives will need to be used to clear the debris.

Landslides and avalanches in Peru, mainly in rural towns in the Andes and Amazon, have killed 28 people and destroyed 1,245 houses so far this year, according to the National Civil Defence Institute, Indeci.

The Director of the weather unit at Perus Service of Meteorology and Hydrology, Grinia Avalos, said sea temperatures have increased above normal. These weather patterns have generated rain in the region.

Perus weather forecasters said they forecast a chance of El Nino conditions starting in May, with weak or moderate intensity.

El Nino, the warming of Pacific sea-surface temperatures, can trigger drought in some parts of the world and cause flooding in others.

Humala said he hoped declaring a state of emergency in the area would help local authorities purchase needed goods to aid the population.