Severe rainfall causes flooding and landslides in parts of Ecuador

Heavy rain between 19 and 20 January 2016 caused flooding in the Manabí and Guayas provinces. The cities of Chone and Portoviejo were some of the worst affected in Manabí. Ecuador’s largest city, Guayaquil, damaged several houses and caused chaos on the city’s roads.

 

Further heavy rain between 24 and 25 January has once again left parts of Manabí and Guayas provinces underwater. At least 20 homes have been damaged in Portoviejo, Manabí. In Guayaquil, the heavy rain caused surface flooding on roads and problems for traffic.

This time around, the province of Esmeraldas has been worst affected. Local media report that 1 person has died in a landslide in Canton San Lorenzo and that several rivers, including the Esmeraldas, Teone, Súa, Santiago, Ónzole and Mataje, have overflowed, forcing 140 families to evacuate their homes, most of them from the towns of Playa de Oro, Maldonado and Timbiré. 

 

Other affected provinces include Los Rios, where the Quevedo river has overflowed. Several small landslides were reported in Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas . The provinces of Cotopaxi, Imbabura, Santa Elena and Quito have also been affected by the heavy rain.

 

Ecuador’s meteorological agency and disaster authorities say that the heavy rain is a result of El Niño. Further frequent, intense rainfall is expected in February and March.

Courtesy of floodlist.com

http://tinyurl.com/hb33rox