Ecuador: At least 22 dead and 47 injured in landslides

At least 22 people have been killed and 47 others injured in landslides in Ecuador, the capital of Ecuador, Mayor Santiago Guardera has said as firefighters continue to search for victims in muddy houses and streets.

Torrential rains on Monday night caused a lot of water to accumulate in a gorge near the working-class neighborhoods of La Gasca and La Comuna. Mud and rocks ended up falling on the houses, while damages were also caused to the electricity network.

“So far 22 people have been transported to the morgue. Another 47 people have been injured and both are in critical condition. There are reports of 20 missing,” said Guarderas.

“We saw this huge black river sweeping through everything, we had to climb the walls to escape,” said Alba Kotakatsi, who managed to get her two young daughters out of the house. “We are looking for the missing,” he added.

A video posted on social media shows a river of mud flooding the streets of the neighborhood, sweeping away trees, vehicles, trash cans and even electricity pylons, as residents scream for help. In other shots, residents rescue their neighbors from the mud torrent.

Authorities did not rule out other landslides. The municipality organized shelters for the affected families and started cleaning the city streets.

In many areas of Ecuador it is raining profusely. As a result, rivers overflowed and hundreds of homes and streets were flooded. The rain that fell in Quito on Monday was equivalent to 75 liters of water per square meter, which was the largest volume of water that has fallen in the city in almost two decades.

Source: AMPE