Flooding death toll reaches 14 as many coastal rivers overflow; New power lines to Peru are operational; Ecuador will open a diplomatic office in Jerusalem

Fourteen people have died as a result of floods and landslides, the Risk Management Office (SNGR) said Tuesday. With the exception of three family members who died Saturday in a landslide near Loja, all the victims lived in the coastal and littoral regions. SNGR reports that 97 people have been injured in weather-related events.

SNGR reports that more than 76,000 people have been affected by the heavy rains of the past two weeks, with 20,000 homes damaged and 87 destroyed. At least 30 kilometers of roads and highways remain impassable of as Tuesday, it says. In addition, 45,000 farm animals have been killed and 2,000 hectares of crops destroyed by flooding.

The Cuenca-Molleturo-Guayaquil highway remains open but traffic has been reduced to one lane in several locations due to landslides.

The provinces suffering the most extensive damage are Guayas, Manabí, and Los Ríos, mostly from flooding rivers. Nineteen of the rivers are in Guayas Province, nine are in Los Ríos, and seven are in Manabí.

Over the weekend, the Rio Tomebamba and Rio Cuenca in Azuay Province were briefly at flood stage but had returned to pre-alert levels by Tuesday morning

New power lines to Peru are operational
The Energy Ministry reported Monday the capacity to transfer electric power between Ecuador and Peru has been enlarged. “The Machala-Zorritos transmission line upgrade has been completed and tests of the system have been successfully completed,” the ministry said in a statement.

On Sunday, the two countries transferred 15 megawatts of electricity between power stations, verifying the capacity of the newly installed transmission lines.

In a joint statement, Peru’s Economic Operations Committee and Ecuador’s Electric Corporation said the expanded capacity will allow the two countries to transfer more electricity during emergency situations, such last year’s drought in Ecuador.

The Energy Ministry said upgrades are also underway to power lines between Ecuador and Colombia.

Ecuador will open a diplomatic office in Jerusalem
Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that Ecuador will open a diplomatic office in Jerusalem, although it plans to maintain its embassy in Tel Aviv. Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld made the announcement after meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar in Quito.

Sommerfeld said the Jerusalem office will be dedicated to “innovative and economic functions,” but not did not provide details. “For many years, Ecuador and Israel have enjoyed a friendly and cooperative relationship and our new office is intended to continue that tradition,” she said.

Currently, six countries have embassies in Jerusalem — the U.S., Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Fiji.