Landslide and floods in Ecuador’s capital kill 24, cover neighborhoods in mud after punishing rain
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A landslide and floods triggered by hours of pounding rainfall in Ecuador killed 24 people in the capital, Quito, and injured nearly 50 others, officials said.
Twelve people remained missing Tuesday night, the municipality said, after a hillside collapsed Monday.
A muddy deluge engulfed the streets, washing away cars, tree trunks and rocks in the La Gasca and La Comuna neighborhoods under the slopes of the Pichincha volcano that overlooks the city.
Ambulance sirens rang out in the capital as rescue workers waded through mud to carry out survivors. The downpour flooded roads and swept through homes, damaging dozens and collapsing some entirely.
Quito Mayor Santiago Guarderas declared three days of mourning as authorities said Monday’s volume of rainfall was the highest since 2003.
“Despite the work to protect the hillsides … we are not exempt from natural disasters,” Guarderas wrote in a tweet.
Soldiers were deployed in the relief effort, and neighbors joined firefighters searching for victims Tuesday while pulling out belongings from the wreckage of their homes after the rain subsided. Emergency responders worked to clear the streets and repair power lines.
Quito resident Imelda Pacheco said she had felt her building shake before water and rocks poured in, destroying her home.
“I barely had time to grab the hand of my 4-year-old son, and I ran to the stairs, to the terrace. Suddenly the walls in front and to the side disappeared,” she told the Associated Press. “We shouted to the neighbors on the first floor, but the water carried away the mother and daughter.”
WASHINGTON POST
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