According to Mayor Santiago Guarderas, a water basin on a hill overflowed on Monday as a result of the heavy rain. This set off a mile-long mudslide — and smaller streams — that cut across a sports field where volleyball players were training and crowds watching.
The stream of mud and water, sometimes with waves of up to three meters high, also dragged cars and damaged several houses. Ecuadorian emergency service SNGRE tweeted today that 16 people are still missing. 46 people were also injured, 6 of whom are in critical condition.
According to Guarderas, 75 liters of precipitation fell per square meter. “This is a record amount that we have not seen since 2003,” said the mayor.
Imelda Pacheco tells the AP news agency how her house collapsed due to the violence of the mudslide. “I just had time to grab my 4-year-old son’s hand and run away. Suddenly the walls of the building disappeared. We just survived.”
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