Quito, February 1. – To 23 dead, 47 wounded, and about twenty missing, the number of victims, as of Tuesday afternoon, was a hail of rain and stones that shook houses like an earthquake, and entered from under doors until that time smashing in their descent everything that was in their way.
According to the newspaper El Comercio, the avalanche occurred about 24 hours after heavy rain, descended from the forests on the slopes of Mount Rocco Pichincha, to urban settlements located in the upper center-west of the capital, the newspaper described people, vehicles, motorcycles … anything standing in The road to the streets of the neighborhoods of La Comuna and La Gasca.
The testimonies of surviving neighbors recounted that the street became a turbulent river with waves of more than two meters, from which a desperate scream was heard.
More than 12 hours after the disaster, small waves of muddy water continued to pour out of this valley while neighbors removed stones, tree trunks and rubbish amid fatigue and pain, and clouds were seen in the sky, the newspaper reported.
Eight houses collapsed completely, and there was material damage, the amount of which has not yet been determined, while rescue and cleaning work continued, with the participation of firefighters, military personnel and personnel from other institutions.
Municipal authorities and private companies stepped in to collect and deliver supplies and clothing to the victims.
The mayor of Quito, Santiago Guarderas, explained that this phenomenon was caused by the over-saturation of the soil due to heavy rains, which caused the sliding from the slopes into the riverbed, and then the silt that overtook the reservoir of the El Tejado Valley. ..
Technical workers have moved to the top of the valley to supervise the conditions of the place, as further landslides have not been ruled out.
The mayor stated, that the El Tejado reservoir has a capacity of 4,500 cubic meters, and as a result of the flooding, it obtained 20,000 cubic metres, El Universo newspaper reported.
He summed up: “The cloud tower, which is nine meters high, was clogged with all that amount of mud and trees, and therefore, bypassed this structure and the way out occurred.”
Metropolitan Public Drinking Water and Sanitation (EPMAPS) Director Othon Zevallos gave a more detailed explanation of the events with a video that showed the El Tejado Valley starting at the summit of Cruz Loma, 4,000 meters above sea level, and descending 1,700 meters, making It gives an average gradient of 63 percent.
“That is, it is a slip,” he compared, noting that 47 years ago, in 1975, an event of similar magnitude occurred, as water slipped into the ravine and continued along La Gasca Boulevard.
In the 1990s, the municipality built the Laderas del Pichincha project, which includes about 30 buildings made up of dams, reservoirs, and collection towers to direct water to the underground collectors.
Presumably, this now precludes greater evils. However, Mayor Guarderas said that the relocation of the area’s residents and the establishment of a protective forest in the strip are being analyzed.
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