Weekend rains replenish rivers and reservoirs, and more is forecast; U.S. consulate offers passport and notary services in Cuenca; Blackout schedule

Lunes, 27/11/2023

Hola, Todos –

Titular –

Tres familias sin un hogar por incendio (Three families left homeless due to fire) – 3 families who worked as recyclers lost their homes in Sinincay el noche de sábado. 12 people have lost everything including money they were saving and their kids’ school uniforms and supplies. They are asking for help, especially for a cooker so they can feed themselves, and for building materials. The original houses were wood and zinc.

Cuenca –

Rains on Saturday and early Sunday helped replenish Cuenca’s four rivers as well as the Paute River near the power generation plants. (El Mercurio)

Lluvias mejoran caudales de los ríos y las represas (Rains improve river and dam flows) – The rains on sábado improved the flows in the rivers and water levels in the dams at the hydroelectric plants in Azuay Province. Between martes and miércoles, the Tomebamba rose from less than .33 cubic meters per second to 9.95 on sábado y domingo. The normal flow is between 6 & 7 cu. m/sec. The river that increased the most was the Machangara which went up to 18.36 cu. m/sec. when its normal flow is 4-5. In some zones it was at the point of overflowing el sábado. The Yanuncay reached 2.52 c.m/sec when the average flow is about 6. The Tarqui reached 2.10 c. m./sec with its normal flow at 3.5. ETAPA EP asked people to call 188 in case of dammed water or floods since it has crews ready to handle these emergencies.

The rains also increased the level of water behind the dams at Mazar which reached 2,122.36 msnm (metros sobre el nivel del mar – meters above sea level), Amaluza (1,980.35 msnm), Sopladora (1,315.62) and San Francisco (788.69). This week, the Empresa Pública Corporación Eléctrica (CELEC EP) will define the hours when they will not cut off electrical service and measures to encourage saving electricity. <Channel your Mom when she nagged you about turning off the lights when you left your room. Maybe channel your younger self with your own kids when you had to pay the electric bills.>

Carla Fajardo, environmental engineer and climate change researcher, explained that precipitation in the Austro will continue through Noviembre. She forecast heavy rains from the beginning of diciembre with risks of overflows and flooding. INAMHI (Instituto Nacional de Metorología y Hidrología) issued an alert for rain and electrical storms until 7:00 el 29/11. <That’s when they tell God to turn off the faucet.> She said these rains are related to El NIño. In Azuay, the most rain is expected in the cantons of Ponce Enríquez, Pucará, Santa Isabel, San Fernando, Girón, Oña, Nabón, and part of Cuenca. The rain will come with wind gusts which could cause roof damage, falling trees, and damage to power lines. <So when you’re out driving, remember to look up as well to look at the road. You never know when a tree up on the hill is going to fall over.>

Horarios de apagones (Outage schedules) – Juan Ferando Bueno, Director de Comercialización of Empresa Eléctrica Regional Centro Sur (EERCS), said you can go to www.centrosur.gob.ec to find out when the power will be out at your house. To do this you need the account number which shows up on your bill or the cédula of the person whose name is on the meter or the Código Único Eléctrico (CUE) which is on the facturas. EERCS also recommends that you disconnect household appliances and other electronic devices before the power comes back on to prevent damage. <I haven’t been doing that — am I running on borrowed time?>

Consulado de EE.UU. atenderá en Cuenca (U.S. Consulate will come to Cuenca) – The US Consulate will be in Cuenca to bring notary and passport services to US citizens el 5 & 6/12 in the offices of the Centro Abraham Lincoln. You need to make a prior appointment for notary and passport services which will be from 13-17:00 on the first day, and 8-12:00 on the 2nd day. Go to https://ec.usembassy.gov/es. <My fingers automatically typed gob.ec before I corrected myself. A sign I’ve been here too long?>

Also, information of interest to US citizens living in Ecuador will be given including about Ecuadorian visas at a “town hall” meeting Tuesday, 5/12, at 9. The consulate asks that you bring correctly filled out documents, with originals and copies of your citizenship documents (passport and birth certificate and age progression photos for minors under 16). Notary and passport services will cost $50 per consul signature and remember that some documents will need more than 1 signature. Payment must be made with a cheque de caja from any Ecuadorian bank. <I think they’re also called a cheque de gerencia and are similar to a cashier’s check.>

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne