at least 24 dead and missing in floods in Quito

Torrential rains, the strongest in twenty years, caused flooding in Quito, killing at least 24 people, dozens of injured and 12 missing, according to the latest provisional report from the authorities on Tuesday, February 2. The scale of the destruction in Quito, a city of 2.7 million people, is unparalleled. The authorities have decided to mourn there for three days.

The torrential rains, which fell Monday for 17 hours without stopping, caused a retention basin to overflow, causing a torrent of water which tumbled down an avenue for more than a kilometer, in the northwest of the capital. The basin, with a capacity of 4,500 m3, broke after receiving nearly four times the usual flow, said the mayor. Torrents of water carrying stones and mud then swept away cars and flooded houses and streets, according to images released by the emergency services and the media. Several buildings were damaged, including a police station and an electricity station.

The authorities have not ruled out that other bodies may be discovered under the mud and rubble, while soldiers accompanied by dogs continued the search. President Guillermo Lasso, visiting China since Monday, sent his condolences on Twitter to the families bereaved by “the tragedy of Las Gasca”. The heavy rains that have been beating Ecuador since October have already hit 22 of its 24 provinces, killing at least 18 people and injuring 24, according to a report from the National Risk Management Service established before Monday’s bad weather.