US To Send Hospital Ship Next Year To Peru To Help With Impact Of El Nino

Authored by Victoria Friedman via The Epoch Times,

The United States will send a military hospital ship to Peru’s Pacific coast next year to help the country cope with the impact of the El Niño weather phenomenon.

Plans to send the hospital ship USNS Comfort to the northern Pacific coast of Peru in February 2027 were confirmed by U.S. Ambassador to Peru Bernie Navarro on Aug. 19 during a press conference at Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) in Miami, Florida.

Appearing alongside Peruvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Espá, Navarro told reporters that “one of the biggest things the United States is doing is bringing the military vessel Comfort, which we are going to bring in February.”

The ambassador said that February is when they believe the problem with El Niño will peak.

Espá told reporters that officials were already starting to develop a road map.

“We are concerned, but we’re not just concerned; we’re taking action,” Espá said.

“That’s why we’re so grateful to the ambassador, because thanks to him, the day before yesterday we met at Southern Command with all the U.S. agencies that will be assisting us, along with civil society and the business sector, to develop our roadmap.”

Following the press conference, Navarro said in a post on X:

“The United States will stand with Peru in facing El Niño. With a strategy focused on prevention rather than reaction, we will set an example for regional cooperation.”

El Niño is a warming of the Pacific Ocean near the equator that affects global weather patterns. According to meteorologists, it could soon equal or surpass the 1997 phenomenon, which caused damage from heat waves, heavy rains, floods, and forest fires.

Peru, which lies on the western coast of South America, has been subject to flooding this year as a result of the weather phenomenon.

Aid to South America

The planned deployment of USNS Comfort, which was already in Peru in 2018 and 2019, was announced in an earlier statement from the U.S. Embassy in Peru on Aug. 17 following the summit at SOUTHCOM.

The summit on disaster preparedness for El Niño was attended by the U.S. ambassador, Espá, SOUTHCOM, representatives from the U.S. and Peruvian governments, and individuals from academia and civil society.

The U.S. Embassy in Peru said in a statement that during the summit, Navarro highlighted that the United States has demonstrated its support for the South American country through its aid and assistance.

This includes the construction of 18 Regional Emergency Operations Centers; the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration training provided to its officials in emergency response and risk management; and scientific and medical cooperation, such as the upcoming arrival of the hospital ship.

The United States has also been sending increased humanitarian aid for earthquakes in Colombia and Venezuela.

SOUTHCOM said in an Aug. 17 post on X that U.S. assistance to Colombia for earthquake relief is ongoing.

“Today, a [U.S. Air Force] C-17 Globemaster III delivered more life-saving assistance and supplies from the [State Department’s] disaster response warehouse in Miami to Medellín for distribution to hard-hit communities in Colombia,” the command said.

“SOUTHCOM is actively supporting the [State Department-led] humanitarian response following the Aug. 10 earthquake in western Colombia. The United States stands in solidarity with the Colombian people during this crisis.”

Heavy Rain in Peru

Heavy rains attributed to El Niño caused flooding in Peru on Aug. 19, resulting in flooded homes, collapsed sewage services, and school closures in the capital, Lima.

Authorities also closed the main route to Machu Picchu, the ancient Inca citadel, due to the overflow of waterways.

There were also road closures from landslides in the southern regions ​of Arequipa and Moquegua.

Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori, who took office on July 28, said that tackling the impact of the weather phenomenon is a priority.