LIMA, July 2 - Peru's government declared a state of emergency in 796 districts —about 40% of the country's total— citing imminent danger from heavy rains associated with El Niño weather phenomenon, according to a government decree published Thursday.

The 60-day measure enables the government to carry out extraordinary measures and actions to reduce the "very high" risk the districts are facing.

• The emergency, established by a decree singed by outgoing president Jose Maria Balcazar, spans regions including Lima, Cusco or Arequipa.

• Regional and local governments will implement the emergency measures in coordination with national authorities, the decree stated.

• The measures implemented during the state of emergency will be financed from existing institutional budgets of the agencies involved, without requiring additional resources from the public treasury.

• El Niño is a periodic warming of Pacific Ocean surface temperatures that disrupts global weather patterns, often bringing drought to some crop-producing regions and heavier rains to others. REUTERS

Peru declares state of emergency in 40% of districts ahead of El Niño rains