The Mayor’s Office of Quito increased to 11 the death toll from a landslide caused by heavy rains in the neighborhood of La Gasca in the capital of Ecuador.
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Mayor Santiago Guarderas confirmed the death toll and added that the natural phenomenon left at least fifteen injuries, eight structures (houses) collapsed and the roof of a sports field destroyed.
The flood, which occurred in the afternoon, generated mud and debris that dragged vehicles that were parked on the affected roads, mainly on Humberto Albornoz street.
In the first hours of the flood, the Emergency Service of Ecuador (ECU 911) indicated that there were a number of injured people, yet to be determined because access to the most damaged areas is difficult for rescuers due to the volume of debris dragged by the barrage.
Given the magnitude of the landslide, rescuers, paramedics, units of the Quito Fire Department immediately moved to the scene; and technicians from the Secretary of Security.
To whom was added the mayor of the city, Santiago Guarderas, with the aim of attending to the emergency and establishing an assessment of the damage.
In this sense, the Quito Fire Department sent 10 specialists to Pucayacu, La Maná, in order to support the evacuation and security work for the inhabitants affected by the overflow of the Quindigua River, whose figure has not yet been defined. exact number of victims.
For its part, the Quito electricity company reported that the intense rainfall also caused the disconnection of the Miraflores Substation, leaving the sectors surrounding La BasÃlica, Colegio MejÃa, Av. América, San Juan, and Miraflores without electricity.
Due to an emergency in the La Gasca sector due to the winter season, @AMT_Quito
Report the closure of the tracks: Mariscal Sucre, at the height of av. Mariana de Jesus and Av. America at the height of the Columbus. Please drive carefully. pic.twitter.com/aLS9qElgrz– ECU 911 Quito (@ECU911Quito)
February 1, 2022
The entity detailed that various units immediately moved to the scene of the events to work on the reconnection of the damaged areas to the electro-energy system as soon as possible, but that the work could take hours due to the complexity of the scenario, and the difficult conditions for to work.
As a result of the landslide, ECU 911 reported the closure of several roads, including main arteries such as Mariscal Sucre, at the height of Av. Mariana de Jesus; and av. America at the height of the Columbus; while urging drivers to drive with caution in the areas surrounding the accident area.