Heavy rains continued to cause deadly flooding and wreak havoc across northern Peru on Tuesday (March 21).
Peru's National Meteorological and Hydrological Service (Senamhi) announced that even more precipitation was expected in the north this week.
So far at least 75 have been killed in the flooding, 263 have been injured, 20 have gone missing and some 630,000 have been affected according to the latest official report.
Peruvian meteorologist Raquel Loayza explained that the unusual weather is the result of a coastal version of "El Nino" that has warmed the ocean waters to abnormally high temperatures.
Coastal El Ninos in Peru tend to be preceded by the El Nino phenomenon in the Equatorial Central Pacific, which can trigger flooding and droughts around the world, but this year's event in Peru has developed from local conditions, according to experts.
About half of Peru has been declared in emergency to expedite resources to the hardest hit areas, mostly in the north where rainfall has broken records in several districts.
Authorities continued on Tuesday to help residents evacuate throughout the region.
Peru is bracing itself for another month of flooding and President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said he was considering appointing a "reconstruction czar" to help coordinate rebuilding efforts.
While precipitation in Peru has not exceeded the powerful El Nino of 1998, more rain is falling in shorter periods of time.
Some scientists have said climate change will make El Ninos more frequent and intense.