Besides installing four water purification units in the flooded areas, OBI workers also pumped water out of 11 houses that were badly damaged.

TUCUME, Peru – Heavy rainfall doesn’t usually mean life or death, but for a few families in Tucume, the water almost proved fatal.

As one teenage girl lay sleeping in her bed, the adobe bricks that made up her home began to crumble and eventually crushed her bed. Miraculously, the young girl was unharmed.

"The adobe bricks fell from the upper part of the wall in her house and smashed down onto the bed where she was sleeping," said Nick Balcombe, OB Peru’s community development director.  "She was not hurt even though the bed is completely smashed."

Balcombe said each adobe brick weighs about 10 to 15 pounds.  

Recent flooding in the area triggered mud slides and the rising water claimed the lives of 16 people and displaced almost 2,000, according to published reports.

Because water sources were damaged during the floods, clean water has been hard to access. OBI provided some immediate relief by installing four water purification systems that supply up to 600 gallons of clean drinking water an hour from each machine.

Above: The upper part of an adobe brick wall collapsed onto a bed where a teenage girl was sleeping. Miraculously, the young girl was unharmed.

In addition, OBI workers scouted out possible areas to dig wells, trenches and install additional water systems as needed.

The purification units are there on a temporary basis as the government builds the infrastructure to provide sustainable clean water within the year. 

"In a year, we can move these systems to another location and do the same thing all over again," Balcombe said.

Besides installing the purification units, OBI workers also pumped water out of 11 houses that were badly damaged.

"Fortunately we were in the right place at the right time," Balcombe said about helping pump the water out of the houses. "If we weren't up there, those houses would most definitely be destroyed by water damage."

He added that if the water wasn’t removed from the houses, it would potentially dissolve away the foundation and the homes would have collapsed.

"The people were very grateful," Balcombe said. "Essentially, we helped save the homes and lives of more than 60 people."

HOW YOU CAN HELP
You can help by making an online donation toward OBI's disaster relief efforts. With your support, we can continue to provide emergency relief and recovery. Please make an on-line donation today.

 

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