The house began to shake as in an earthquake while a heavy downpour fell outside accompanied by an unusual and deafening roar. Suddenly water and stones began to enter through the doors and windows of the first floor and he only managed to run towards the terrace, Imelda Pacheco said on Tuesday in front of what was her home in the capital of Ecuador, Quito.
After almost 24 hours of intense rains, a flood came down from the forests on the slopes of the Ruco Pichincha mountain to urban settlements located in the upper part of the center-west of Quito, destroying everything in its path: people, vehicles, motorcycles, anything anything that stood in the way of the streets of the La Comuna and La Gasca neighborhoods. Authorities have confirmed at least 23 deaths.
“I barely had time to grab my four-year-old son by the hand and I ran up the stairs to the terrace. Suddenly the walls ahead and to one side disappeared. We yelled at the neighbors on the first floor, but the water washed away the mother and daughter,” Pacheco told The Associated Press.
“We kept yelling at the neighbors of the nearby houses, but the noise of the mud and the downpour did not let us hear anything,” said the woman in front of what was her house, the first to be impacted by the flood that took all her possessions. .
He assured that the street had become a turbulent river, with waves of more than two meters and where desperate screams could be heard. “I thought we were going to die with my son, I hugged him tight and we were trembling, I think it was cold and fear. We saved ourselves with just the right ones, ”said the woman before breaking down in tears.
The Secretariat of Security of the Capital Municipality reported that the avalanche on Monday afternoon left 23 dead, 47 injured -two in critical condition-, 23 missing and eight collapsed homes in addition to material damage not yet quantified.
Municipal authorities and private companies advance the collection and delivery of provisions and clothing for the victims of that area, where animal organizations search for and rescue pets in the middle of the mud and debris.
The mayor of Quito, Santiago Guarderas, explained that it was caused by the oversaturation of the soil due to the intense rains, which triggered “a slide from the slopes to the riverbed and the alluvium that exceeded the reservoir” of the El Tejado ravine .
More than 12 hours after the disaster, small waves of muddy water continued to come out of that creek while the neighbors removed stones, logs, and rubbish in the midst of fatigue and pain.
Carlos Bermejo, 32, one of the rescuers seeking to clear a residence invaded by at least a meter of debris, told the AP that “we have come to collaborate with the people who have been affected by the disaster last night. We’ve found quite a bit of rubble, destroyed real estate… this is where the first hit came.”
In a sports field, from which many people were dragged, there was an overturned taxi and three other vehicles destroyed and half buried in the mud.
Laura Quiñónez, 65, repeated “I’ve lost everything, I have nothing, it’s all over” next to an ambulance while neighbors removed household items and appliances stained or damaged by mud.
Firefighters, military personnel and personnel from other institutions remain in place in rescue and cleaning tasks.
Nearly 800 police, army and metropolitan agents were providing assistance in the area while new flows of lesser magnitude continued to fall from the ravine where the avalanche originated.
The relief efforts began during the night when the uniformed officers asked for silence to listen to the cries of the people trapped in collapsed houses.
While the rescue tasks were carried out, black clouds threatened to unleash new rains over the north of the capital.
A similar event occurred in the same area about 50 years ago.
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