The President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa cancelled his official agenda on Tuesday meetings in New York, where he was scheduled to speak at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, to return to Ecuador to deal with the fires that have broken out again around Quito and the energy crisis affecting the entire country due to a severe drought.
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“I have cancelled the agenda that I had to fulfill as head of state at the UN. Quito needs us all. I am returning to lead all efforts against the enemy we are facing,” Noboa announced in a message posted on his social media.
Several fires broke out on Tuesday afternoon in different mountainous areas of the Ecuadorian capital, which was suddenly covered in thick smoke. In some of them, the flames were close to homes.
The president noted that Ecuador is experiencing “the worst climate situation in decades, which requires urgent decisions at all levels of government.”
Images shared on social media show the situation in Quito, with forest fires in several parts of the city.
“If this is found to have been caused intentionally, those involved will be prosecuted for terrorism. Ecuador: adversity will find us more determined than ever,” Noboa concluded, who was scheduled to stay in the United States until Friday, September 27, and also visit the cities of Boston and New Haven.
The Ecuadorian leader was scheduled to speak on Wednesday at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, after having already done so on Monday at the Future Summit, organized within the framework of this international event.
During his stay in New York, he met on Monday with the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, and on Tuesday he did the same with his counterparts from the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader; and from Paraguay, Santiago Peña.
Two weeks ago, a similar situation occurred in Quito with several outbreaks of fire in different parts of the Ecuadorian capital. It was determined that some of these fires had been deliberately started, which is why one person was arrested and sent to preventive detention.
In this new emergency, the mayor of Quito, Pabel Muñoz, reported that “The situation is critical” as the flames have spread from five different sources and have even reached the Metropolitan Park.
“It will not end in the next few hours and will continue throughout the night,” Muñoz warned.
The national government has suspended for Tuesday night the power cuts that were scheduled as part of the rationing that began last week, due to the severe drought that prevents the country’s main hydroelectric plants from operating normally.
The drought has also begun to cause water supply problems in some parts of central and southern Quito.which have begun to register service outages of up to twelve hours a day this week.
According to Ecuador’s Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (Inamhi), the country is experiencing its worst dry season in 61 years, which has facilitated the spread of fires, with more than 23,400 hectares affected by flames since August.
EFE
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