Emergencies in Arequipa

Good to Know

• Expect Spanish-only operators on all emergency lines — the Tourist Police are more likely to have English speakers than the general 105/106/116 lines, so having a translation app or asking your hotel/host to call on your behalf helps a lot.
• 105 (police) is the most consistently used number in practice; 911 exists but Peru's unified 911 rollout hasn't reached full nationwide reliability yet, so don't rely on it exclusively.
• Arequipa's fire brigades are entirely volunteer-run, and they often respond to medical emergencies and traffic accidents in addition to fires — useful to know if SAMU (106) is slow to reach you.
• Peru sits in a high seismic zone, and phone networks (including emergency lines) can get saturated during earthquakes — it's worth saving multiple numbers (e.g., both 106 and a nearby clinic's direct line) rather than relying on just one.
• Peru does not use the U.S.-style Level I–IV trauma center system, so no hospital in Arequipa carries an internationally standardized 'trauma level' — the designations above reflect Peru's own MINSA/EsSalud internal hospital-tier categories, not trauma certification.
• Public hospitals (Honorio Delgado, EsSalud network) provide free/subsidized care to insured or emergency patients but are frequently overcrowded, especially in the emergency department, and are not tied to travel/private insurance networks — nomads without EsSalud coverage will generally be asked to pay out of pocket or use a private clinic instead.
• For serious trauma or complex emergencies, international medical-assistance providers commonly recommend stabilization in Arequipa followed by medical evacuation to Lima if further specialist care is needed, since the highest level of care in Peru is concentrated in the capital.