Heavy rain that began on 19 January 2016 has caused flooding in the Manabí and Guayas provinces of Ecuador.
Manabí Province
In the province of Manabí, the heavy rain began yesterday, 19 January, 2016. Some of the worst affected areas are in the north of the province, in particular the town of Chone, where flood water in the town’s streets is up to 1.5 metres deep. Houses and other buildings have been flooded and schools have been closed as a result.
The rain caused surface flooding within a few hours in the town of Chone. Local media say that since then the Garrapata river, a tributary of the Chone river, has overflowed, affecting farm land in rural areas
Surface flooding has also been reported in the provincial capital, Portoviejo. Elsewhere in the province, the cantons of El Carmen, Flavio Alfaro, Bolívar, Junín, Tosagua, San Vicente, Sucre, Jama and Pedernales have also been badly affected.
Guayas Province
Heavy rain also caused flooding in Guayaquil, the country’s largest and the most populous city with around 2.69 million people.
During a 24 hour period between 19 and 20 January 2016, 50.9 mm of rain was recorded in the city, according to figures from Instituto Nacional Meteorologia e Hidrologia (INAMHI). The heavy rain coincided with the high tide of the Guayas River, according to the Instituto Oceanográfico de la Armada (Inocar).
Flooding has caused chaos on the busy roads of the city and caused damage to buildings. Ecuador’s risk management secretariat, Secretaría de Gestión de Riesgos del Ecuador (SGR), reported via Twitter that several buildings have collapsed in the Flor de Bastión area of the city.
The period of heavy rain in Ecuador comes in what has been a fairly dry January in the country. According to figures from INOCAR, accumulated rainfall levels for January are below normal.
Social Media – Manabí Floods
Exteriores de colegio Amazonas y escuela 24 de julio en Chone lucen Asia, reportan habitantes del cantón manabita pic.twitter.com/A3SJkCOhu7
— César Velastegui (@cesarvelastegui) January 19, 2016
Social Media – Guayas Floods
Manejar con precaución, intenso tráfico en sectores inundados de Guayaquil, ATM informa cierre de vías colapsadas pic.twitter.com/NAiHqxXGiP
— César Velastegui (@cesarvelastegui) January 19, 2016
Así lucen varios sectores de Guayaquil por intensa lluvia a esta hora pic.twitter.com/XjgOXBhs2t
— César Velastegui (@cesarvelastegui) January 19, 2016
#Guayaquil bajo el agua esta tarde por #Lluvia de una hora!! Otro sector anegado. @elnoticierotc @periodista8 pic.twitter.com/mQHj22CpwQ
— Xavier Castro (@XavierCastroTC) January 20, 2016
SIN NOMBRE #lluvia sobre #Guayaquil Terribles #inundaciones @Gamanoticiasec pic.twitter.com/1yrfOJok19
— Lcdo. Angel Sánchez (@sanchezangelm) January 20, 2016
El Niño Preparations
On Monday 18 January, Secretaría de Gestión de Riesgos del Ecuador (SGR) announced that the country had developed detailed contingency plans for the risks posed by El Niño.
SGR said that a total of 122 canton contingency plans and 10 provincial contingency plans are now in place. Over 200 shelters have been set up to accommodate families displaced by severe weather. SRG has also carried our risk management training to over 15,000 people, and created 246 community risk management groups to help expedite help for local communities.
