Cyclone Yaku: Five facts you should know about the meteorological phenomenon that affected the country

Cyclone Yacu has been causing severe repercussions across the northern coast of Peru since last week. Tumbes, Piura, La Libertad and Lambayeque They have so far suffered the most from floods and reactivation of streams.

Indeci said there are 8,222 casualties and 33,000 casualties so far, reporting 58 dead and 57 injured, as well as eight missing. In addition, 420 houses were destroyed and 14,000 houses were damaged. The numbers may change in the coming hours.

Given this situation, we indicate below some key points that should be informed about this.

What is a cyclone?

Senamhi specified that A cyclone is considered a rapidly rotating storm. originated in tropical oceans. It has a center of low pressure and clouds that move in a circle, like a spiral, towards the starting point.

“A cyclone is a low circulation that has a circular motion of the winds, and in this case, since it is not organized, it does not have another component in the upper part of the atmosphere. This means that this is not a hurricane, the winds do not reach such speeds, but the hurricane moves both upwards, up and down, so it makes it organized and the speeds are much higher,” said Senamhi head Guillermo Baigorria at a press conference.

Cyclone Yacu will be felt in Lima

Defense Minister Jorge Chávez said this Friday that Senamha estimated that Cyclone Yacu would hit north of Ancash and cause a possible increase in rainfall in Lima and the activation of the gorges of the Rimac, Chillon and Lurin rivers.

“Cyclone Yacu, which is located in the northern part, is descending and this will lead to an increase in the amount of rain in the city of Lima, and the flow of the Rimac, Lurin and Chillon rivers may also increase,” he told the media.

Guillermo Baigorria, president of Senamhi, explained that the rainfall in Lima metropolitan area will be 5 millimeters, that is, 5 liters of water will accumulate per square meter. In this sense, he pointed out that Lima is not a city with constant rainfall and hence flat-roofed houses will accumulate water and may collapse if they do not have a proper drainage system.

Cyclone Yaku will not become a hurricane

Raquel Loayza, Senamhi’s meteorological engineer, ruled out in RPP News any possibility that Cyclone Yaku could turn into a typhoon or hurricane.

“This could not be, because the water warms up only in that area (the northern coast), and we have the Humboldt current, which is cold and which, although it has moved south so far, could not form. a typhoon or a hurricane (…) would not have funds in other areas that are really warm,” he explained.

The specialist pointed out that currently in our country, conditions are similar to tropical zones, but there are differences, such as wind speed, which exclude any possibility of a typhoon.

“This cyclone does not have the characteristics of a tropical cyclone. If it gets a little closer to our shores, it is already weakening, because the water is warm only in the northern part. In the part of Lima, the water is still neutral (…) I cannot invade like a hurricane , traveling and coming ashore,” he added.

Effects that Yaku will cause

The cyclone will continue until at least mid-March and, according to meteorological experts, will leave a greater sense of confusion, as well as an already obvious increase in rainfall in the north and in the middle zone of Peru.

Action taken by the government

This was announced on Friday by Defense Minister Jorge Chavez. State of emergency to be declared from Tumbes to Lima due to the impact caused by heavy and constant rainfall caused by Cyclone Yaku.

Chávez Kresta did not give an expiration date for this declaration, but indicated that they are already working on the necessary forecasts and are considering adding two other regions. However, he gave an estimate of how long Cyclone Yacu will be on the Peruvian coast.

“The horizon we have, according to the scientific community, is April 15 at the latest. We expect Cyclone Yacu to leave Peru and not affect weather patterns. I would like to add that the impact was in the area of San Martin and city oxapampa”, – said Minister of Defense in a press conference.