Attachments
SITUATION OVERVIEW
Since January 2025, Ecuador has been experiencing an increasingly complex emergency situation resulting from the convergence of two large-scale crises: a prolonged rainy season with intense floods and landslides, and a major environmental emergency caused by an oil spill in the coastal province of Esmeraldas. According to the Secretariat for Risk Management (SitRep No. 70, 20 March 2025), a total of 1,897 adverse events had been recorded by mid-March, with widespread impacts across 23 provinces, 193 cantons, and 651 parishes.
The provinces of Manabí, Guayas, El Oro, Los Ríos, and Esmeraldas have been particularly affected. Manabí has registered over 62,950 people impacted and 226 separate events, followed by Guayas with 18,334 individuals affected, and Los Ríos with 16,289 affected.
These impacts include destroyed homes, flooded communities, damaged roads and bridges, disrupted water systems, and affected livelihoods (SitRep No. 70, 20 March 2025). In total, more than 111,000 people have been reported as affected, with 14,155 displaced and over 31,521 homes damaged or destroyed.
These figures are expected to rise.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) reported the loss of over 13,700 hectares of crops and more than 96,000 animals affected or dead. Manabí, Guayas, El Oro, and Los Ríos – regions highly dependent on small-scale farming – have seen significant damage to plantations of cacao, bananas, passion fruit, and oil palm. These losses are affecting subsistence agriculture and local economies, further aggravating the vulnerability of already at-risk communities (SitRep SNGR, 20 March 2025).
Health conditions have also been deteriorating.
As of mid-March, the Ministry of Health confirmed over 9,566 cases of dengue across the country, while damage to water systems, poor drainage, and the accumulation of stagnant water have contributed to the proliferation of disease vectors. In addition to physical health risks, there are growing concerns over mental health and psychosocial well-being, particularly among displaced and isolated populations (SitRep SNGR, 14 March 2025).
On 13 March 2025, a major oil spill occurred in Cube Parish, Quinindé Canton, Esmeraldas Province, due to a rupture in the TransEcuadorian Oil Pipeline System (SOTE) caused by a landslide (SitRep SN Esmeraldas No. 1 to 4,
March 2025). The spill reached the Caple, Viche, and Esmeraldas rivers – primary sources of drinking water and irrigation – contaminating ecosystems and leaving approximately 300,000 people at risk of unsafe water consumption (France 24, 15 March 2025; Phys.org, 18 March 2025). Official estimates indicate that approximately 300,000 people are at risk due to disrupted access to potable water caused by the contamination of primary river sources.
Government reports and international media confirm the severe impact of the oil spill on community livelihoods. Over 8,700 people have been directly affected by the loss of water access, soil contamination, and the destruction of farming plots used for cacao and oil palm cultivation. Affected communities include Cube,
El Vergel, El Roto, San Mateo, and Chinca, among others. In some sectors, households have been forced to rely on unsafe tanker water, with reports of cross-contamination with fuel.
The oil spill also caused serious ecological harm to the Esmeraldas River Estuary Mangrove Wildlife Refuge and surrounding natural reserves. Cleanup efforts have been delayed by poor road access, continued rains, and the lack of technical capacity onsite. With 95 per cent of the potable water service affected in the immediate region, community tensions have increased, and response actors have highlighted growing protection risks (Mongabay, 20 March 2025).
Meanwhile, meteorological authorities (INAMHI) forecast 45 to 60 additional days of high-intensity rainfall as of mid-March, likely exacerbating the flood crisis and delaying recovery efforts (INAMHI Bulletin, 16 March 2025).