Ecuador El Niño Floods: Seven Rivers Burst Their Banks in Esmeraldas Province
Ecuador El Niño floods hit Esmeraldas, where seven rivers burst their banks on 30 September. Officials list 83 open emergencies; scientists debate the cause. The post Ecuador El Niño Floods: Seven Rivers Burst Their Banks in Esmeraldas Province appeared first on The Rio Times .
Ecuador's El Niño floods have caused significant damage in Esmeraldas province, with seven rivers overflowing their banks this week. By 07:00 on Wednesday, September 30, the National Risk Management Secretariat (SNGR) reported that seven out of the eight national rivers were over their banks. Almost all of Ecuador's rivers had overflowed by Thursday morning, with SNGR listing no rivers still in flood.
In Esmeraldas, the flooding was particularly severe in Quinindé canton, where four rivers - El Calvario, Viche, Cube and Herrera - burst their banks. Canuto and Sucio rose in Muisne, and the Esmeraldas River flooded Isla Luis Vargas Torres. The eighth river, El Chorrón, was located in Naranjito, Guayas province. The SNGR estimated that around 358 families in Quinindé were exposed to the flooding, while about 600 families lived on Isla Luis Vargas Torres, lacking proper sanitation facilities.
The government declared a national red alert for El Niño on August 29, with 176 rain-related events recorded by SNGR since then, 83 open and 93 closed. Most of the affected cases were in Esmeraldas, with 27 open cases compared to Manabí's 13. The flooding in Eloy Alfaro canton affected about 1,500 people, prompting the establishment of a local state of emergency.
Forecasters are divided on the exact duration and intensity of the current El Niño, with some attributing the heavy rains to rapid sea warming off Ecuador's coast.
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