Government declares emergency in 1,380 districts of 24 regions due to El Niño

The President of the Republic, Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi, declared a State of Emergency in several districts of some provinces across 24 departments and the Constitutional Province of Callao due to the imminent danger of intense rainfall associated with the 2026-2027 El Niño Phenomenon. The measure is contained in Supreme Decree No. 149-2026-PCM, published in the Official Gazette El Peruano on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, in the Legal Norms section, and is in effect for a period of sixty (60) calendar days. The regulation was endorsed by the President of the Council of Ministers, Luis Fernando Galarreta Velarde, and by nine ministries from the social, infrastructure, and security sectors.

The declaration is based on Law No. 29664, which creates the National System for Disaster Risk Management (SINAGERD), and the complementary regulation approved by Supreme Decree No. 074-2014-PCM. The National Institute of Civil Defense (INDECI) submitted Official Letter No. 000769-2026-INDECI/JEF, dated October 30, 2026, and adopted Situational Report No. 000054-2026-INDECI/DIRES, which concludes that the response capacity of regional governments “has been overwhelmed.” The previous emergency for the same phenomenon was declared by Supreme Decree No. 124-2026-PCM, dated September 1, 2026, and subsequently extended by supreme decrees No. 032-2026-PCM and No. 065-2026-PCM.

Level 4 Emergency in 191 Provinces

The Executive branch classified the event as a level 4 emergency and approved an annex detailing the territorial scope: 191 provinces and 1,380 districts across 24 departments plus Callao. The scope includes coastal and highland regions such as Amazonas, Áncash, Apurímac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Cusco, Huancavelica, Huánuco, Ica, Junín, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Lima, Loreto, Madre de Dios, Moquegua, Pasco, Piura, Puno, San Martín, Tacna, Tumbes, and Ucayali, in addition to the constitutional province.

The technical support comprises seven documents, including:

• Technical Report No. 069-2026/SENAMHI-DMA-SPC, regarding maps of extreme precipitation anomalies during the El Niño events of 1983, 1998, and 2016, and the Coastal El Niño of 2017 and 2023.
• Official Communiqué ENFEN No. 18-2026, dated October 16, 2026, from the Multisectoral Commission in Charge of the National Study of the “El Niño” Phenomenon.
• Reports No. 11-2026/SENAMHI-DHI-SPH and No. 14-2026/SENAMHI-DMCA-SVC, the latter regarding climate outlooks from November 2026 to January 2027.
• The Risk Scenario Study for rainfall for the period November 2026-January 2027 from the National Center for the Estimation, Prevention, and Reduction of Disaster Risk (CENEPRED).
• Situational Report No. 000025-2026-INDECI/SDIERD, dated October 29, 2026.

Regional and Local Governments will execute the actions

Article 2 of the decree provides that the included regional and local governments shall execute the exceptional, immediate, and necessary measures and actions for the reduction of the existing Very High Risk, as well as for response and rehabilitation, under the technical coordination and monitoring of INDECI. The following shall participate, as applicable:

• The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education.
• The Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation and the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation.
• The Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of the Interior.
• The Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Ministry of Energy and Mines.
• The Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations and the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion.

Interventions must have a direct causal link to the event and may be modified according to the needs and security elements that arise during their execution. The declaration was approved with the approving vote of the Council of Ministers and subject to reporting to the Senate.

Financing without additional resources from the Treasury

Article 3 establishes that implementation is financed from the institutional budget of the involved entities, “without demanding additional resources from the Public Treasury.” The endorsement corresponds to the President of the Council of Ministers, Luis Fernando Galarreta Velarde, and the heads of Health, Education, Agrarian Development and Irrigation, Housing, Construction and Sanitation, Defense —Rafael Jorge Belaunde Llosa—, Interior —César Augusto Astudillo Salcedo—, Transport and Communications, Energy and Mines, Women and Vulnerable Populations, and Development and Social Inclusion. The decree was issued at the Government House, in Lima, on November 2, 2026.

In the same edition of the official newspaper, other regulations linked to the same phenomenon were published: Supreme Decree No. 146-2026-PCM, which extends the emergency in districts of Junín, Cusco, and Ayacucho; Supreme Decree No. 147-2026-PCM, for Piura, Sullana, Paita, and Talara; and Supreme Decree No. 148-2026-PCM, referring to high-danger penitentiary establishments.

The regulation enables exceptional public spending and mobilizes the three levels of government in areas considered very high risk, with a direct impact on millions of inhabitants of the coast and highlands exposed to heavy rains, floods, and landslides during the summer of 2027. Its validity of 60 calendar days requires regional governments to report results to INDECI, which in turn must inform the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.

Source: El Peruano, Legal Norms, November 3, 2026, p. 13 (official reference: 2571017-3).