Strong rains have devastated parts of north and west of Peru, causing rivers to break their banks and leaving many residents stranded.

Peru's Canal 9 television showed dramatic images of people crossing the La Leche river in Pacora, Lambayeque district.

The flood waters have caused the destruction of 300 houses, two schools, rendered hundreds of hectares of crops unusable and made roads impassable.

Following a tour of the affected areas in a National Police helicopter, the president of the Lambayeque district estimated that the Fernando Belaunde Terry highway transit will resume in 15 days.

The highway connects the district with the north east of the country. The majority of highways in the interior of the country have been paralyzed by heavy rains and hundreds of mountain villages continue to be isolated.

El Silencio is the area most devastated by the overflowing of rivers, which in the last two weeks have devastated many kilometers of the Fernando Belaunde highway.

Experts consider this to be the worst damage produced in the last 30 years that will force authorities to reconstruct the highway between Olmos (Lambayeque) district and the province of Jaen (Cajamarca).