24 dead, dozens injured as flooding hits Ecuador capital

The heaviest flooding to hit Ecuador in two decades has killed at least 24 people in Quito, inundating homes, swamping cars and sweeping away athletes and spectators on a sports field, officials said Tuesday.

A dozen people are missing and 48 injured, Ecuador's SNGRE emergency service said on Twitter.

Video footage showed torrents of water carrying stones, mud and debris down streets in the Ecuadoran capital, as rescuers helped inhabitants wade through the fast-running currents to safety.

Many in the city of 2.7 million people were taken to shelters, as authorities declared three days of mourning starting Tuesday.

Rain that drenched Quito for 17 straight hours caused a deluge that damaged roads, agricultural areas, clinics, schools, a police station and an electric power substation.

Quito mayor Santiago Guarderas said a downpour had overwhelmed a hillside water catchment structure that had a capacity of 4,500 cubic meters but was inundated with more than four times that volume.

The resultant failure sent a kilometer-long (half-mile-long) deluge through a sports field where volleyball players were practicing with spectators on the sidelines.

"People who were playing couldn't get away. It grabbed them suddenly," witness Freddy Barrios Gonzalez told AFP.

"Those who managed to run were saved (but) a family got buried" under a river of mud, added Gonzalez, his own clothes still muddy from the ordeal.

"There they died."

It was not immediately known how many of the players or spectators were among the total number of dead and injured.

Soldiers with rescue dogs were scouring the area around the field for survivors.

Quito police chief Cesar Zapata did not rule out finding more bodies under thousands of cubic meters (cubic feet) of mud and debris left behind by the flood.

- 'Rivers of mud' -

Rescuer Cristian Rivera said many people in Quito had to be treated for hypothermia.

The municipality has mobilized heavy machinery to clear roads and fix the failed water catchment system.

Resident Mauro Pinas said he heard "an explosion" when the structure burst, after which "rivers of mud" descended on the city -- mainly in the northwest.

Power was lost in some parts after electrical poles were brought down.

Dozens of soldiers were deployed to assist in search and rescue efforts of the police and fire brigades.

The flooding began on the slopes of the Pichincha volcano, which overlooks the nation's capital.

Guarderas said Monday's rainfall brought down 75 liters (20 gallons) per square meter (square foot) following 3.5 liters on Saturday.

This is "a record figure, which we have not had since 2003," he added.

President Guillermo Lasso, who traveled to China on Monday, offered his condolences on Twitter to those affected.

"We continue to work in search and rescue, containment actions, psychological care and the transfer of injured people to hospital," he said.

Heavy rains have hit 22 of Ecuador's 24 provinces since October, leaving at least 18 dead and 24 injured as of Sunday, according to the National Risk Management Service.

Scientists say climate change is intensifying the risk of heavy rain around the world because a warmer atmosphere holds more water.

Haiti floods kill at least three
Port-Au-Prince (AFP) Feb 1, 2022 - Flooding triggered by torrential rain in Haiti left three people dead and one missing, authorities said Tuesday.

Violent weather affected at least 20 districts across Haiti in recent days, flooding more than 2,500 homes and completely destroying three.

The deaths and missing person were reported in the Nord-Ouest department of the impoverished Caribbean country.

Cap-Haitien, Haiti's second largest city with 300,000 inhabitants, was hit particularly hard, with a number of neighborhoods flooded.

However, a full picture of the damage is not yet available as travel in the city is still difficult, the country's Civil Protection agency said.

Major damage during heavy rains in Haiti is not uncommon due to poor drainage infrastructure.

A lack of an efficient garbage collection system also poses a health hazard during downpours, particularly for Haiti's poorest families living in informal dwellings near canals or ravines blocked with waste.

Six feared dead in Mozambique floods
Maputo (AFP) Feb 1, 2022 - Six people were feared dead in Mozambique on Tuesday after they tried to cross rivers swollen by floodwaters in dugout canoes, police said.

The accidents on the Zambezi and Revuboe rivers came in the wake of Tropical Storm Ana, which pummeled the region last week, leaving 86 dead in Mozambique, Madagascar and Malawi.

Heavy seasonal rains have continued to hit central Mozambique, leaving rivers still raging days after Ana dissipated.

On the Revuboe River, the tropical storm washed away a key bridge, forcing people to cross by boat.

One canoe carrying 12 people capsized at the weekend. Eight people were rescued, but the rest are feared dead, including a three-year-old child, said police spokesman Feliciano da Camara.

"The canoe that sank in the Rovuboe River was carrying 12 people, of whom eight were rescued alive," he said.

Two others were feared dead after a canoe sank on the Zambezi River, he added.

"The rainy season's strong winds and rains are causing very strong currents, which makes navigation difficult," he addd.

Another tropical storm, Batsirai, has already formed in the Indian Ocean, headed toward Madagascar.

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