During the week of January 5th, hail and rain fell in Puno, southern Peru breaking the drought, although Lake Titicaca has temperatures three degrees celsius above normal. The interandean valleys (Mantaro in central Peru) and on the eastern slope (Chanchamayo) continue with heavy rains and the later with severe landslides. On the western slope of the Andes, rains continue to create landslides in different valleys and to raise the levels of rivers. Last Saturday it rained hard (for us) in parts of Lima. At Callao it was estimated as one liter per square meter which was catastrophic for old adobe mansions (in Lima/Callao we should only get a small drizzle during winter). The río Piura in northern Peru broke its banks in the lower part and women and children had to be air rescued. This weekend the río Tumbes was again raising and new flooding is expected. Cholera has been reported from several cities and towns but as isolated cases, not as an epidemic. I have watched on Peruvian TV news of heavy rains and flooding in Uruguay bordering on Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro, in Tucuman (Argentina), and southwestern Ecuador. Unfortunately, no details were given.--Manuel Plenge <MAPlenge@southernperu.com.pe>