Powerful storm floods city streets and downs trees; Property owner sentenced to prison for destroying historic house; Ecuador drops shrimp tariffs

A powerful thunderstorm accompanied by winds of up to 80 kilometers an hour flooded large areas of Cuenca Tuesday afternoon. The National Meteorology Institute (Inamhi) described the storm as “one of the most intense in recent memory,” and reported that rainfall totals broke previous records.

According to Inamhi, the storm was the leading edge of a low-pressure system that moved out of the Peruvian Amazon and continued across the Cajas Mountains to the coast. Severe flooding was reported in Guayaquil late Tuesday night.

Vehicles navigate flood waters Tuesday on the Cuenca-Azoguez autopista.

At least three houses were destroyed by flooding, with many more suffering significant damage from landslides and flooding in northern sectors of the city. Fire department personnel were conducting “rescue and evacuation missions” late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, according to the mayor’s office.

Dozens of cars were stranded on flooded streets in the northern and central sectors of the city, with several vehicles totally submerged in underpasses at Chola Cuencana and Av. Las Americas. Tram service was suspended for two hours due to flooding.

City utility ETAPA reported that “a large number of trees” were blown over by high winds, blocking streets and damaging property. “We are not accustomed winds of this ferocity in Cuenca and they occurred in a large part of the city,” said ETAPA Deputy Director Rigoberto Guerrero. He said that roofs of several buildings, including at Terminal Terrestre, were damaged or destroyed by the winds. Other property damage resulted from dislodged roof tiles flying into adjacent structures.

Inamhi called the intensity of the rain “unprecedented.” Two satellite weather stations in the historic district recorded 95 and 98 millimeters (almost four inches) of rain in less than an hour-and-a-half. “Most storms of this intensity are concentrated in a small area,” Inamhi meteorologist Carlos Andrade told radio station Antena Uno. “This storm was massive and covered most of Cuenca and large areas to the north and east of the city.”

Tuesday night, ETAPA reported the Tomebamba and Machángara rivers were approaching flood stage and advised residents to stay away from riverbanks.

The weather forecast? Expect more rain through the weekend.

Property owner sentenced to prison for destroying historic house
An historic district property owner was sentenced to four years in prison Monday for destroying a 150-year-old house. The unnamed owner demolished the historic structure in 2019, intending to build a parking lot on Calle Hermano Miguel between Mariscal Sucre and Presidente Córdova,

The owner of property on Calle Hermano Miguel was sentenced to four years in prison for demolishing an historic house.

According to the judge who delivered the sentence, the owner thought he could “evade the law” because the historic house was located off of Hermano Miguel, behind a wall. “He was aware of the law that protects heritage properties but believed he could get away with it because it was not visible from the street,” the judge said. The demolition, however, was revealed by a drone overflight.

According to the Cuenca Historic Areas office, the house was built in 1872 by Carmen Mata Lamota.

In addition to the prison sentence, the property owner was fined 14 basic salaries and ordered to rebuild the house based on the original plan, which is on-file in city archives.

Ecuador drops shrimp tariffs
The Ecuadorian government removed tariffs on shrimp imports from the United States in an effort to prevent similar tariffs from being imposed on its shrimp exports to the U.S.  The removal follows threats from U.S. President Donald Trump to impose reciprocal tariffs on all imports.

Jose Antonio Camposano, executive director of the Ecuadorian shrimp producers trade association, welcomed the announcement. “Although this may have short-term adverse effects on our industry, the damage will be minor,” he said. “It is a precautionary measure to eliminate justification for a reciprocal tariff.”