Until 1:00 p.m. on February 1, there were 22 dead after the flood that surprised the inhabitants of La Gasca and the Commune on Monday.
1.- Until 1:00 p.m. on this Tuesday, February 1, 2022, they register 22 dead, 47 injured, two of them in critical condition; in addition, there are 20 missing alerts. The figures were delivered by the mayor of Quito, Santiago Guarderas, during a press conference of the city’s Emergency Operations Committee regarding the alluvium from January 31, 2022.
????#ATTENTION | the mayor of #Quito, @santiguarderas confirmed that there are 22 deaths and 47 injuries due to the #alluvium that affected #LaGasca the night of January 31, 2022. He also reported on where the wounded are. pic.twitter.com/11yBj22Y6c
– The Ecuador Time (@lahoraecuador) February 1, 2022
two.- What caused the flood? The intense rains recorded on the afternoon and night of Monday, January 31, 2022 generated the emergency, according to the Municipality. The amount of rain was 75 liters per square meter, when expected, according to estimates by the Institute of Meteorology (Inamhi), two liters per square meter.
Othón Cevallos, manager of the Potable Water and Sanitation Company (Epmmaps), indicated that the reservoir located in the El Tejado ravine can support 4,500 cubic meters (at the time of the alluvium there were 20,000 cubic meters) and the catchment towers have a depth of 9 meters. He noted that the alluvium overwhelmed that capacity and channeled a flow of water, mud, stones and trees below Av. Mariscal Sucre and arrived at Av. De la Gasca. There it swept away what was found in its path.
3.- These catchment structures, built in 1995, have a period of operation that It goes between 25 and 50 years. “We are going to think about expanding. But there is no space to build a large reservoir like in other places. But we are going to study it,” Cevallos said.
4.- The Municipality ruled out that this event is related to deforestation in the upper part of the affected area and with the construction of a ashes on the slopes of Pichincha. “The phenomenon occurs in the El Tejado ravine and the Urcupamba (ash pit) issue is further north. There is a license that has legal problems and that will be aired from the legal point of view”, indicated the Mayor.
5.- The Unified Command Post is active in the Faculty of Jurisprudence of the Central University. People who seek to donate supplies for those affected by this natural disaster can approach there. LA HORA also collected all the citizen initiatives, from universities and foundations that are also active and ready to coordinate aid.
6.- Free care centers for affected pets are promoted in WhatsApp groups and on social networks. An initiative is from the veterinary doctor Daniela Cabezas from the Pet-vital clinic, located in the sector of the Leather and Caicedo and the Island. Its facilities are ready to welcome affected pets. On Monday he already received a dog that had minor bruises and was scared. The idea arose from his interest in helping animals. Rescue groups have already communicated to take more pets. Although the initiative is to help for free, if there are multiple animals in consultation, help with supplies will be required.
7.- Technicians have ascended to the upper part of the ravine, located at 4000 meters above sea level. There they carry out an inspection to find out if there were more landslides caused by the rain in the area.. “We do not rule out that there are other landslides in the upper part that may have generated this phenomenon and that there may be accumulated material. That is why the reservoir is being cleaned in the lower part,” said Ottón Cevallos, manager of the municipal water and sewage company.
8.- Nine bodies They have already been removed from the morgue for their wake. Private funeral home associations have contacted the Municipality to help those who are unable to pay for the service free of charge. The private company also offers to repair vehicles damaged by the flood.
9.- It exists a group of 12 people who is gathering information from affected houses and closed businesses to make a complete inventory.
10.- The Mayor studies the possibility of the relocation of the neighborhoods that are in the upper part of the ravine to try to have a “quite extensive” protective forest in the area and avoid future disasters.
11.- There are seven initiatives of Risk Management Law in the Assembly. Its treatment will be accelerated to have this legal tool that allows outlining all forms of action during events and, above all, in terms of prevention. (DPV)
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