Heavy rain destroys crops and closes roads in western Azuay Province on Sunday

After six hours of continuous rain Sunday, farmers in western Azuay Province are reporting crop damage as streams and rivers overflow their banks. Flooding also closed the Cuenca- Molleturo-El Empalme highway, the primary connection between Cuenca and Guayaquil, for several hours Sunday.

Molleturo residents stand beside the flooded Rio Jagua, a river they usually cross on foot in September.

Hardest-hit by rains that began Saturday night are lower elevations of Molleturo, a rural parish in the Cuenca canton, and in the Camilo Ponce Enríquez canton. Road crews were working late Sunday to clear landslides on several rural roads.

Carlos Morales, president of the San Felipe commune in Molleturo, said that around 15 communities have been severely affected by flooding. “We have never seen this before in September – this is the dry season — and we are asking the municipality of Cuenca for help,” he said. “We have suffered serious crop damage and some of our livestock have died.”

Morales said the worst flooding is on the Rio Estero Piedra, where cocoa, banana and passion fruit crops are underwater. “In many cases we are not able to check our crops because the steams that we cross by foot are flooded,” he said.

Officials in Camilo Ponce Enríquez report crop damage from flooding of the Rios Blanco and Frio. Several roads near the Luz and Guía communities have been closed due to flooding.

For the first time in more than a month, significant rainfall was reported in higher elevations of Azuay Province Sunday, including in the urban areas of Cuenca. The National Meteorology Institute (Inamhi) reported that as much as eight millimeters of rain was recorded.

The country’s most serious flooding Sunday was reported in Esmeraldas Province, where the National Secretariat of Risk Management said it was responding to 133 emergencies, including road closures and flooded homes. It reported that the Rios Pambil, Cayapas and Onzole are above flood stage.

The Inamhi predicted more rain Monday but said it would not be as intense as Sunday’s rain in areas affected by flooding.