Ecuador declares $650 million emergency response as rains cause floods and landslides

Ecuador is confronting widespread flooding and landslides after heavy rains associated with the El Niño phenomenon, according to a report from one outlet Secretariat for Risk Management. The disaster has struck 22 of the country's 24 provinces, damaging almost 5,000 homes and affecting infrastructure such as bridges and roads, with seven bridges damaged, one destroyed, and 6.7 miles of roads impacted. Officials logged 326 weather-related incidents across 100 cantons, leaving 1,306 people severely affected and recording one death in El Oro province.

In response, President Daniel Noboa's administration has set aside $650 million in emergency funds, while the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology cautions that thunderstorms and flooding are likely to persist. The hardest-hit areas include Esmeraldas, Los Ríos, Guayas, and coastal provinces where overflowing rivers threaten agricultural lands and isolate rural communities.