Heavy rains on Santa Cruz Island in Ecuador: one dead, two missing, about 80 evacuated

Flooding on Santa Cruz: casualties and evacuation

Heavy rains on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos archipelago have left one person dead, two missing and about 80 residents evacuated; the authorities declared a state of emergency. This was reported by Anadolu, citing the Ecuadorian television channel Ecuavisa. According to the emergency report, the fatality occurred in the Bellavista area, while the two people went missing in the Divino Nino area.

Scale of the damage and the authorities' measures

The flooding affected several areas: Bellavista and Santa Rosa in the central mountainous part of the island, as well as Miramar, Aguacatal and La Cascada on the coast. In Miramar, a house collapsed and power lines were damaged. The evacuees were housed in the Santa Cruz sports coliseum, which was turned into a temporary shelter. Roads are partially impassable, especially on the route between Puerto Ayora and Bellavista; residents were advised to refrain from non-essential travel. The airport on the neighboring island of Baltra suspended commercial operations but remains available for emergency flights and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Coordination of assistance

The Governing Council of the Galapagos sent heavy machinery and trucks for evacuation and assistance in coordination with the cantonal emergency operations committee. Risk Management Secretary Carolina Lozano said (according to her post on X) that two temporary shelters with a total capacity of 500 people have been set up, the authorities are assessing the needs of affected families and are preparing to send 1,000 humanitarian aid kits. The National Emergency Operations Committee deployed 13 medical workers: they conducted more than 55 consultations and hospitalized three patients. Meanwhile, the Santa Cruz health center is not operating due to flooding. Rescue, evacuation and humanitarian operations continue as damage assessment is ongoing.