Fujimori Warns 'We Are Already Late': Inside Peru's Mega El Niño Race Against the Clock

Keiko Fujimori, accompanied by the Prime Minister Alberto Otárola, government officials, and military personnel, arrives in Piura to coordinate prevention actions and call for unity among national and regional authorities in response to the El Niño phenomenon. (Credit: Photo: El Peruano / Official Press)

The Briefing

• 9.3 million Peruvians are classified at "very high risk" of flooding and landslides by disaster risk agency CENEPRED; civil defense body INDECI separately estimates 1.2 million residents face the most immediate danger, with forced displacement projected to begin before year-end.
• The Fujimori government has pre-positioned shelter capacity for 30,000 displaced people across three northern regions and committed roughly S/2 billion in emergency funds — yet its own health minister acknowledges that fewer than 500 of 1,800 tracked hazard sites have been fully remediated.
• ENFEN and NOAA forecasters converge on the same peak window: December 2026 through March 2027 is when the heaviest rains, huaicos, and river overflows are most likely to peak — roughly six weeks from now.