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Ecuador

Ecuador: Floods + Earthquake - March 2023 DREF Operation MDREC021

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What happened, where and when?

The heavy rains registered in Ecuador since February 2023 have caused severe material damages and loss of human lives, especially in the provinces of El Oro, Guayas, Loja, Los Rios, Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas and Pichincha.
On the other hand, the telluric events registered from midday on 18 March 2023 have generated multiple social and environmental impacts, which have put at risk the normal development of the activities of the citizens, causing economic and human losses, particularly in the provinces of Guayas, El Oro and Azuay.

On 20 March 2023, the President of the Republic declared the state of emergency through Decree No. 693, that mentions: “Declare the state of exception due to public calamity in the provinces of Guayas, El Oro, Pichincha, Loja, Los Ríos, Bolívar, Santa. Elena, Esmeraldas, Manabí, Imbabura, Chimborazo, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Napo and Azuay.

This declaration is based on the serious affectations to the life and material goods of the inhabitants of these provinces; events from the serious winter season and the telluric movements that occurred on March 18, 2023; natural events that have jeopardized and affected the rights of its inhabitants, particularly to a dignified and safe life.” This statement is made in the framework of the coordination between government entities and the Ecuadorian Red Cross following the multiple emergencies underway, through which it was identified that the heavy rains have caused serious affectation and that the phenomenon is expected to increase. To this analysis was added the damage caused by the earthquake, which has doubled the misfortunes in the same population. However, the lack of detailed information on the potential gaps in the assistance being provided and the scale of the damage as a result of both events is still not clear, which is imperative for an effective intervention. For this reason, the need for a DREF for Assessment has been identified to gather the information needed to deal with the effects of these emergencies in the best possible way.

Heavy rain and floods:

Since 1 January 2023, the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (INAMHI) has issued permanent reports regarding the rainy season. The last bulletin, issued on 21 March, indicated that heavy rain events would increase gradually in the coastal area as of the last week of March 2023.

According to the National Regional Study of the El Niño Phenomenon (ERFEN) Committee, abnormal warming has been observed in the Ecuadorian sea and off the northern coast of Peru (Niño 1+2 region), registering temperatures between 27 and 29°C on the surface, which are up to 1.5 °C higher than normal. These conditions, in addition to atmospheric instability and the transit of equatorial waves led to the intensification of convective activity with intense precipitations (https://www.inocar.mil.ec/erfen_bac/cargar_boletinespdf.php?id_secc=4).

According to the latest Situation Report No. 42 of the Rainy Season issued by the Risk Management Secretariat (SGR), up to 30 March, a total of 1,079 dangerous events related to the rainy season have been reported at the national level. The provinces with the greatest impact on the population are Guayas, Manabí, Los Ríos, Santa Elena, Cotopaxi,
El Oro, and Santo Domingo de Tsachilas. For a detailed breakdown of events by province, refer to page 2 of Situation Report No. 42. (https://www.gestionderiesgos.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/SITREP-Nro.-40-Epoca-Lluviosa-01012023-al-28032023.pdf)

As a result of the events mentioned before, the SGR reports a total of 39,391 people affected, 22 deceased, 23 injured, and 358 people in need of immediate assistance. Additionally, in terms of infrastructure, 7,321 houses are reported to have been affected and 73 houses destroyed. For a detailed breakdown of affectation by province, refer to page 3 of Situation Report No. 42.

As of 28 March, 13 temporary shelters were active for the care of people affected by hazardous events. A total of 167 people (41 families) remained in these shelters.

Furthermore, the number of cases related to vector-borne diseases are increasing significantly as a result of the heavy rains. According to reports from the Ministry of Public Health (MSP), in epidemiological week (EW) 3 of the present year, 727 cases of dengue were reported, while in EW 10, 3,582 cases were registered, the majority in Guayas,
El Oro and Manabí (https://bit.ly/3z7zhIR). The most affected provinces by vector-borne diseases are Guayas, Santo Domingo, Manabí, El Oro, Morona Santiago, Orellana, Pastaza, Zamora Chinchipe, Esmeraldas, Los Ríos, Santa Elena,
Napo, Sucumbíos, Loja, and Pichincha.

Additionally, the rainy season has created an environment conducive to an increase in the incidence of Leptospirosis.
The report of Permanent Epidemiological Surveillance in the country, from 12 March 2023, alerted that Guayas presents the highest number of cases with 31 infected people, followed by Manabí with 9 and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas with 5 cases and with one deceased person.

Earthquake:

On 18 March 2023, at 12:12 p.m., a seismic event occurred with a magnitude of 6.5 degrees on the Richter scale, at a depth of 44 km, whose epicenter was recorded 29.26 km west of the Balao canton, Guayas province, Ecuador. As of 28 March, a total of 59 aftershocks have been recorded.

According to the latest Situation Report No. 18 issued by the Risk Management Secretariat (SGR), up to 28 March, a total of 2,574 people is reported to have been affected, 532 people in need of immediate assistance, 494 injured, and 14 deceased. The provinces with the greatest impact on the population are El Oro, Guayas, and Azuay. For a detailed breakdown of affectation by province, refer to page 3 of Situation Report No. 18. ( h t t p s : / / w w w . g e s t i o n d e r i e s g o s . g o b . e c / w p - c o n t e n t / u p l o a d s / 2 0 2 3 / 0 3 / S i t R e p 1 8 - S i s - mo-Balao-Guayas-28032023_15h00.pdf)

Since the beginning of the seismic event, a total of 461 attentions have been registered by the health network, formed by the Ministry of Public Health, the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute, the Ecuadorian Red Cross, and the Fire Department. However, as a result of the telluric movement, there are so far 1,453 people affected in their health condition.

In terms of infrastructure, 718 houses are reported to have been affected, and 162 houses destroyed. The Ministry of Education, through the District Offices, registered structural damages in 331 basic and initial education establishments. Also, the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) notified that 55 health establishments present structural damage, but they do not interfere in sanitary operations, and the infrastructure of medical units at the national level continues to be assessed.

As of 28 March, 3 temporary shelters were active for the care of people affected by the seismic events. A total of 137 people (39 families) remained in these shelters.

As mentioned above, the information currently available on affectation is very general and there is still not very detailed information on the needs of the population and potential gaps in the assistance being provided by local authorities as a result of the two events. Consequently, there is a need for the Ecuadorian Red Cross to support the Decentralized Autonomous Governments (GAD), responsible for the attention to disasters at the local level, in gathering data on the needs of the population in the affected areas as well as identifying gaps in the response currently being provided thus fulfilling its role as auxiliary to the public powers of the State in the humanitarian field.