Cuenca records heaviest rainfall in 70 years; New U.S. Ambassador to Ecuador named; Thermal power plant resumes operation; Ecuadorian cyclist wins

As heavy equipment worked to clear the Cuenca-Molleturo-Naranjal highway Monday, rescue workers freed at least 40 people trapped between landslides. The highway, which is the main route between Cuenca and Guayaquil, remained closed to traffic as efforts continue to clear tons of rock and mud in at least four locations.

“We hope to open one lane either Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday,” Cuenca Mayor Cristian Zamora said Monday. “The major problem is that debris continues to slide down the mountains, which slows the recovery and threatens the workers.”

Flood water continued to pour through a landslide across the Cuenca-Molleturo-Naranjal highway Monday in Sayausí. (El Mercurio)

Zamora said the largest blockages are within 18 kilometers of Cuenca, where the highway enters the Cajas Mountains. “This area received the heaviest rainfall Saturday, with Sayausí being the most affected.”

Zamora added that Saturday’s storm produced the most intense rain in the Cuenca area in 70 years. “The mereology institute tells us that 8.4 million cubic meters of water fell in our area of Azuay Province in a five-hour period Saturday afternoon. This is far beyond the capacity of our infrastructure to control. It is good news, of course, for the hydroelectric system but it is terrible news for the people who were stranded in the mountains and for those in Sayausí whose homes were damaged.”

According to the National Mereology Institute, two Cuenca-area weather stations reported record amounts of rainfall within a one-hour span Saturday.

Thermal power plant resumes operation
The Enrique García gas-fired electric plant in Guayaquil is back in service, adding 96 megawatts to the country’s power grid, Energy Minister Roberto Luque said Monday. The plant had been idle for three months due to a lack of maintenance.

In his daily news conference, Luque said Enrique García is one of several thermal generation plants that are returning to full service that have been either out of service or operating below capacity in recent months. “With the dry season returning in June and July we must optimize our thermal plants to augment hydro generation in the mountains,” he said.

Luque, who is on a tour of the country’s electric generation plants, will visit three hydro plants at the Mazar-Paute complex in Azuay Province on Tuesday.

Arthur Brown

New U.S. Ambassador to Ecuador confirmed
The United States Senate on Friday confirmed Arthur Brown as the new ambassador to Ecuador. He will replace Michael Fitzpatrick who has held the post since 2019.

Currently the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe, Brown has also served as USAID Director in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Afghanistan and the Congo. Prior to his USAID positions, he worked for Johns Hopkins University’s JHPIEGO Corporation, a nonprofit organization for international health, on international maternal and child health programs. He began his public service as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer.

The U.S. Embassy in Quito has not set a date when Brown will assume his duties.

Ecuadorian cyclist wins first stage of the Giro d’Italia
Ecuadorian cyclist Jhonatan Narváez won the first stage of the Giro d’Italia Saturday in Turin. Narváez, a member of the INEOS Grenadiers team, outsprinted Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar to the finish line to kick off the 2024 Giro.

Narváez, originally from Sucumbios Province, posted a time of 3:14:13 on the 140-kilometer route from Venaria Reale to Turin. With 10 kilometres to go, Narváez stuck to Pogacar’s wheel before overtaking him on the home stretch.

Narváez is the second Ecuadorian to wear the Maglia Rosa. In 2019, Richard Carapaz earned the honor