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Subway Ecuador
A barrage is mud flow where the water washes away the loose material. They are produced in ravines, canyons and valleys and they are very dangerous, because they can drag cars, tents, mobile homes and roll large rocks, knock down trees, cut roads and even destroy bridges.
This phenomenon was experienced on the night of January 31 in Quito. The rainy recorded that day caused a strong alluvium that descended from the La Comuna sector, to the north of the city, along the slope of La Gasca Avenue.
Citizens support staff with debris cleanup
Via @MetroEcuador pic.twitter.com/5ttNqcrwlN
– Metro Ecuador (@MetroEcuador) February 1, 2022
When do they happen?
Santiago Cárdenas, an agricultural engineer, explains that among the Causes that cause the alluvium is he excess water stagnant rains, fragile land and flooding of rivers, but the most common cause, says the specialist, is the accumulation of water.
Another specialist, the hydrologist Emilio Cobo, told the GK portal regarding the alluvium in Quito, where the water collector of the slopes of Pichincha El Tejado, in the capital, which was built in 1995.
The death toll at the time due to the flood in #LaGasca amounts to 21: https://t.co/wRP078CDMT pic.twitter.com/uFcChsRXlf
– Metro Ecuador (@MetroEcuador) February 1, 2022
“The collector might not withstand the current causing the flood,” said Cobo, adding that a flood can occur every 10 or 20 years.
The mayor of Quito, Santiago Guarderas, explained that the causes of the flood is that the city registered a rain record which exceeded 75 liters per square meter, this level the highest since 2003. The intense rains caused a reservoir of the El Tejado creek collapse and cause rock and mud slides.
“Due to the possible damming in the El Tejado ravine, there was a slide of material from the El Teleférico sector,” said the Metropolitan Public Company of Potable Water and Sanitation of Quito.
