Attachments
DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT
Since January 2025, Ecuador has been experiencing a prolonged rainy season that has triggered widespread floods and landslides, affecting large parts of the country. The provinces of Manabí, Guayas, El Oro, Los Ríos, and Esmeraldas have reported the most severe impacts. As of 6 April, national authorities reported 136,573 people affected and 41,990 houses damaged and 252 destroyed (SNGR Ecuador Rains on Ecuador Sitrep No. 86, 6 April 2025). On 25 February, through Resolution No. SNGR-050- 2025, the National Secretariat of Risk Management (SNGR) declared a regional state of emergency for 60 days in the provinces of Guayas, Los Ríos, Manabí, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Santa Elena, Loja, and Azuay. The crisis escalated on 13 March, when a landslide caused the rupture of a major oil pipeline in Esmeraldas province, resulting in an oil spill that has affected surrounding communities, rivers, and ecosystems (OCHA Flash Update No. 1, 20 March 2025). Esmeraldas is one of the provinces already affected by the ongoing heavy rains and flooding. The spill reached the Caple, Viche, and Esmeraldas rivers – primary sources of drinking water and irrigation – and flowed into the ocean, contaminating ecosystems and leaving approximately 300,000 people at risk of unsafe water consumption (Oficio Nro. MAATE-VAG-2025- 0084-O Ministerio del Ambiente, Agua y Transición Ecológica, 15 March 2025). Government reports and international media confirm the severe impact of the oil spill on the livelihoods of the affected communities. Over 12,000 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, which has caused serious ecological harm to the Esmeraldas River Estuary Mangrove Wildlife Refuge and surrounding natural reserves. (SNGR Oil Spill SitRep 18, 2 April 2025). EP PETROECUADOR reported that containment dams and barriers were set up in the Viche area, identifying that 25,116 barrels were spilled over an 80 km stretch, and that a total of 4,400 barrels of oily residue (a mixture of water and hydrocarbons) were recovered (SNGR, 25/03/2025). Following a formal request from the government, a United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) conducted a rapid needs assessment in 37 communities across 17 parishes in the cantons of Esmeraldas, Rioverde, Quinindé, and Atacames. The assessment identified urgent needs in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), food security, health, and livelihoods. At the government’s request, a team from the Joint Environment Unit (JEU) began assessing riverbeds affected by sediment and flow changes. They are monitoring oil slicks at sea using aerial and satellite tools, and collecting water samples from various intake zones, in coordination with the Ecuadorian Red Cross.