Peru and the melting of the ice rivers – “Ice protection is a matter of survival”

Peru does not need to imagine the worst scenarios. It has already lived. In 1970, mud collapses caused by ice melting caused the destruction of the city of Youngai, and killed more than 6,000 people in minutes.

Three decades ago, in 1941, an ice lake in the city of Wara, leading to 1,800 people, was killed.

The issue of melting of the icebergs appeared in the news headlines recently when an ice collapse of snow, clay and stones in the Swiss Alps led to the burial of an entire village. All residents of the village were evacuated weeks before that incident in anticipation of this threat.

In Peru, these disasters known as “ice lake floods”, not just memories of the past. Paula Moskila Milosaftt, responsible at the National Institute for Ice Research and Mountain Environmental Systems in Peru, said about this: “This year alone, we witnessed two small incidents, one of which destroyed a house and closed a road. In 58 years, we lost 56% of the ice cover in the country. This does not only mean a shortage of water, but also means more disasters, and more death.”

Peru, whose ice rots are located in tropical areas, are facing a double danger. These ice rivers are more fragile in front of climate change, and their melting does not stop – but rather.

Constant melting does not only result in the formation of new lakes, but it threatens the stability of the entire mountains. The melting of “permanent underground ice”, which was acting as a natural seduction that fixes slopes, releases a series of disasters, including rock, ice, and clay slides.

In the Santa River basin, one of the most vulnerable areas of these disasters in the world, the phenomenon may destroy water power plants and agricultural irrigation systems.

Milosaftch says: “Cities like Wara and Hanakayu, the two large and populated in the population, are directly threatened. If the clay collapses are strong, it may extend to dozens or even hundreds of kilometers.”

The National Institute identified 528 ice lakes at risk of floods. Although there is no accurate number, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of Peruvian people live in areas vulnerable to direct or indirect danger.

Despite this threat, Peru does not have a national plan dedicated to these disasters, and the floods of lakes are dealt with as side effects of earthquakes, not as independent disasters.

In some cities such as Wara and Cosco, early warning systems began, monitoring dangerous lakes around the clock. In the event of a flood, the population will have only 17 to 30 minutes to evacuate – a short time, but it may save lives.

Although there are sirens and banners, public awareness is still weak. “In Wara, awareness campaigns were launched, but in general, there is a lack of education on risk.”Milosaftt says.

the solution? A mixture of procedures: controlling water levels in the lakes, strengthening natural dams, preventing construction in dangerous areas, and strict urban planning. But the transfer of the entire societies is still difficult, costly and socially and is socially acceptable.

In the end, Milosaquch asserts that the loss of ice rivers is not just an environmental tragedy, but rather a direct threat to life. “Protecting ice means protecting lives. It is a matter of survival.”