Flood in Alausi Leaves Several Ecuadorians Missing

On Sunday morning, the General Secretariat of Risks (SGR) confirmed that a landslide left an undetermined number of people missing and one injured in Alausí, a city located in the Ecuadorian Andes.

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"At the moment, there are reports of damage to homes and vehicles due to the overflow of La Palma creek, one injured person, and missing citizens," stated the SGR through social media.

In the area, there are homes at risk and a bridge affected by these emergencies, so authorities proceeded to evacuate inhabitants of these properties to safe places.

Alausi is located in the province of Chimborazo, where part of a town was buried on March 26, 2023, when rains caused mountain landslides and a large avalanche.

The text reads, "Chimborazo: flood affected parishes of Alausi. Authorities rule out missing persons. The inhabitants of the Piñapungo and El Citado precincts were affected by a flood that occurred in the early hours of Sunday, April 21."

On that occasion, 84 people died, 9 of whom were declared missing, 75 people, 9 of whom remained missing after rescuers could not find their bodies under tons of earth that buried dozens of houses.

Last month, local authorities warned that remediation efforts had barely progressed since the landslide area remains unstable and there are still dwellings in risky areas.

On Sunday, Ecuadorian citizens took to social media to criticize the negligence of authorities and the inability of President Daniel Noboa's administration to take preventive actions. Due to the prevailing situation, the authorities suspended the elections in Alausi.