57 died in Ecuador rainy season: officials

Half a year of intense and destructive rain throughout Ecuador has left 57 dead and 110 injured, the National Risk Management Service said Saturday.

In addition, nearly 31,000 people were affected by the rain, which caused flooding, landslides and damage to thousands of homes and hectares of farmland.

The rainy season entered its seventh month in April and is expected to intensify. Thirty people died and 87 were injured due to the rains in the Andean province of Pichincha alone, according to a report by the relief agency.

Every one of Ecuador's 24 provinces was affected -- with the exception of the Galapagos archipelago, 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) off the coast, the service said.

It said exceptionally strong and prolonged downpours had damaged or destroyed more than 5,455 hectares (13,500 acres) of farmland, as well as 7,176 homes, schools or health clinics.

A January 31 flood and landslide in capital city Quito, caused by the most torrential rainfall seen in two decades, left 28 people dead and 52 others injured.

Due to its location in the equatorial zone, Ecuador experiences just two seasons, summer and winter.

The current rainy season has caused landslides, floods and river overflows, and collapsed structures.

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

Colombian flooding kills 12, two missing: authorities
Bogota (AFP) April 8, 2022 - Torrential rains and flooding have killed at least 12 people at a mining camp in mountainous northwest Colombia, with another two reported missing and more damage expected, authorities said Thursday.

The flooding at Abriaqui in the Antioquia department surprised a group of miners as they were eating dinner on Wednesday evening, Mayor Hector Urrego told local television.

"The guys were at dinner, some were preparing to rest, others were leaving work when the flood arrived" at the El Porvenir gold mine, he said.

"We have twelve lifeless bodies (...) and there are still two missing," he added.

The flooding destroyed one level of the mining camp as well as part of a plant, according to the Antioquia government.

The effort to recover the missing was delayed until Friday morning due to inclement weather, rescue officials said.

Urrego added that 20 families were evacuated from a nearby town due to the risk of further flooding, with various rivers around Abriaqui threatening to burst their banks.

Several rural roads were made impassable by landslides.

"A team of professionals are heading to the area to support response efforts," said the provincial disaster management agency DAGRAN.

President Ivan Duque expressed "solidarity with the families of the victims" on Twitter.

"Relief agencies are working... in search operations for the disappeared," the president said.

So far this rainy season, 17 people have died in floods in Antioquia, according to local authorities.

Hours before the Abriaqui flood, a woman was killed in a landslide triggered by heavy rains in the neighboring town of Barbosa.

In February, at least 14 people died and 34 were injured in a mudslide triggered by heavy rains in the central-west Risaralda province.

Related Links
Weather News at TerraDaily.com

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