MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

One dead and more than 2,000 affected by El Niño flooding in the Galápagos

Authorities announced repairs to the road linking the airport with the island and the removal of debris

Heavy rains linked to the El Niño phenomenon triggered a flash flood on Santa Cruz island in Ecuador’s Galápagos archipelago overnight from Friday to Saturday, leaving one person dead and more than 2,000 affected, according to local mayor Fanny Uribe. Water reached up to three metres deep in some neighbourhoods of Puerto Ayora, the island’s main town.

After some ten hours of heavy rain in the highlands of Santa Cruz, water rushed down a ravine towards the inhabited coastal areas. “Rescues were carried out using kayaks and Zodiacs, and most people were brought to safety,” said fire chief Freddy López, who estimated the water reached three metres in the La Cascada and La Unión neighbourhoods. There were no alarms: firefighters, Red Cross volunteers and young residents went door to door to wake people, some of whom had to swim out of their homes. Most took refuge in the Puerto Ayora Coliseum. A local foundation says it has identified at least 500 more people affected who are not on the official register because they are staying with relatives.

Authorities announced repairs to the road linking the airport with the island and the removal of debris. Uribe said she was negotiating housing vouchers with the government for families who lost their homes, was preparing to distribute 1,000 food kits and that the relocation of the La Cascada neighbourhood was being studied. Residents have organised community kitchens and aid networks; a fishermen’s foundation is serving three meals a day to some 1,200 people. According to El País, President Daniel Noboa had not commented publicly on the emergency.

The Environment Ministry said no deaths of giant tortoises or wild birds have been reported as a result of the rains. Farmers in the island’s highlands, whose produce largely feeds the local population, fear for their crops.

Santa Cruz, with about 15,000 inhabitants, is the most populated island in the Galápagos, some 1,000 kilometres from the mainland. Ecuador’s National Risk Management Secretariat declared a nationwide red alert for El Niño on September 29, and its effects are expected to peak in December.