Rockslide slows traffic on Pan Am hwy. near Susudel; Covid-19 cases increase slightly in Cuenca but not hospitalizations; Forecast calls for mix of sun and rain

Apr 28, 2022 | 1 comment

Miércoles, 27/4/2022

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

Noche de recuerdos para festejar a mamá (A night of memories to celebrate mom) – For Mother’s Day, there will be a 5 hour concert este viernes in the coliseo Jefferson Pérez a las 19:00. Performers will be Los Terrícolas from Venezuela, Los Ángeles Negros from Chile, Boddega from Ecuador, and singer Silvana from Ecuador. Tickets are available at Inca Global Tours and at El Surtido. Cost: $15 – general, $25 – preferred, and $35 – VIP.

Dan incentivos para Patimonio Cultural (Incentives for Cultural Heritage) – The Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural (INPC) is calling for entries to promote the heritage and social memory of Ecuador with $170,000 for projects focused on research into cultural heritage. There is another $128,000 to disseminate social memory and the country’s heritage through virtual tools. If you are interested, go to http://convocatoriafomento.patrimoniocultural.gob.ec

Titular –

A father and son were trapped in a rockslide Tuesday on the Pan American highway near Susudel. They suffered no injuries but had to wait for a tow truck to pull their car from a rock pile. (El Mercurio)

Lluvias no darán tregua (No respite from rain) – The weather station at the airport which is administered by the Insituto Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología (INAMHI) measured 104.7 mm. of rain in marzo. This is 93% of the 112.8 mm. of average rainfall for the month. Abril normally receives 123.3 mm. of rain, and to date, 93.12 mm. has fallen, close to 76% of the average. Juan Carlos Tamayo, an engineer and researcher into climate change, explained that each millimeter of rainwater translates into the equivalent of 1 liter of water per each meter squared. He said that at the end of 2021, all forecasts pointed to a marked drought in the first 5 months of 2022, especially in the Río Jubones watershed. This would have been atypical since normally the first months are rainy.

Las precipitaciones continuarán en mayo (Rainfall to continue in May) – INAMHI is forecasting an increase in the frequency and intensity of rain in different areas of the country. In Azuay, the cantons with the highest risk of intense rains are Cuenca, Ponce Enríquez, Santa Isabel y Pucará. Along the coast, rains will focus on the north and interiors of the region which could see medium to strong rains with electrical storms. Rains will extend into a large part of the Amazon region, in some cases accompanied by electrical storms and gusts of wind. In mayo, the interandean zone will also see extreme levels of UV radiation, especially in cantons such as Cuenca, Girón, San Fernando, Santa Isabel, y Pucará. <If you forget your umbrella, you’re going to risk either a soaking or a sunburn – maybe both within 5 minutes of each other.>

Informe –

Padre e hijo se salvan de morir (Father and son saved from death) – A father and son were saved from death after they were trapped in their vehicle in the middle of a landslide at km. 62.2 on the vía Cuenca-La Jarata-Loja. The slide was el pasado lunes in the Susudel parish in Oña canton. The father and son were returning to Loja from Quito after buying a 2015 Kia Rio when the car was hit by large rocks <Large is a rock the size of the car.> Neither suffered even un rasguño (scratch – your word for the day), and stayed in the area until a tow truck could remove the vehicle which was totaled. They are hoping the Government will help them recover some of the $15,000 they paid for the car since the damage was a result of a natural event on a federal highway.

By noon Tuesday, MTOP had opened a temporary lane at one side of the road until it can reopen one of the two lanes to all traffic. Large lines of vehicles formed, and drivers of many heavy trucks spent the night on the road. The president of the parish junta, Manuel Ochoa, was afraid of additional slides since the area is unstable, and asked MTOP for a thorough investigation of the slope especially since the water lines serving Susudel and parts of other communities is at the foot of the road. This is in the same stretch of road that was closed for 20 days last month.

Cuenca –

Positividad se mantiene en el país (Positivity is maintained in the country) – On his visit to Cuenca, Vice-minister of Health, José Ruales, said that they are seeing a sustained and important reduction in Covid cases. He said that since the semana pasada, there has been an incidence of 4% positives in antigen tests, and 5% in PCR tests which indicates a level of control over the virus. <A statement like that is just asking for karma to prove you wrong.>

The MSP is watching until next week for the impact from the Semana Santa holidays although until now, there doesn’t seem to be an increase in cases or hospitalizations in spite of the crowds during the holiday. Some provinces seem to have extinguished the pandemic with no contagions in the last two weeks and no deaths in the past 30 days. However, the number of cases is worrying, especially in Pichincha and Azuay. He said that if the incidence of positivity is maintained, then it’s very likely that the use of masks can be eliminated in open areas in mayo. He said that people over 50 are still vulnerable and recommended they get their 3d and 4th doses once 5 months have passed since their last dose. There were 46 cases in Azuay last week, 22 in Guayas, and 135 in Pichincha. 86.54% of people have gotten their 1st vaccine dose, and 82.39% their second.

Casos han disminuido en el país (Cases have decreased in the country) – Bernardo Vega, professor and researcher, reported the the number of cases in Cuenca, Azuay and Ecuador in the last 4 weeks. He said that cases in the city and province have increased, but not hospitalizations, thanks to the vaccinations.