Heavy rains continue to wreak havoc in Peru.<br /><br /> The floods have claimed at least 78 lives and a state of emergency has been declared covering half of the country.<br /><br /> It is a result of record downpours which caused rivers to overflow, triggered landslides and left thousands homeless.<br /><br /> Climate experts say it is due to the ‘coastal El Nino’ phenomenon, with exceptionally warm water in the Pacific causing the torrential rains.<br /><br /> On Peru’s northern coast, small villages have been totally cut off.<br /><br /> “Recently, I went to see my house which is bad, bad, bad. I lost all my things. I lost practically everything and that is why I was obliged to come here,” said one woman displaced by the floods.<br /><br /> On the outskirts of Lima, Besenta had to abandon her home to the floods.<br /><br /> “I don’t have water, I don’t have light. It’s a whole situation I am going through. I am 80 years old,” she said.<br /><br /> As some begin the clean-up, forecasters warn the flooding won’t let up for another two weeks.<br />
