ECUADOR (March 21, 2008) – The worst floods in 25 years have killed 37 people and affected an estimated 3.6 million others, according to the Ecuadorian Ministry of Coastal Areas. Heavy rains have been battering the country since mid February, leading to floods and landslides that have devastated Ecuador’s agriculture, infrastructure and housing. The damage to crops alone, estimated at $110 million, has left millions of people at a loss for alternative ways to earn a living. More than half of the country’s 24 provinces have been affected, with the coastal provinces of Manabí, Guayas, Los Ríos, and El Oro suffering the most damage: approximately 300,000 people are directly affected and 15,000 of these are in temporary shelters.
CARE is responding to the emergency in the province of El Oro, working closely with the Emergency Operations Centers in three counties -- Santa Rosa, Arenillas and Huaquillas -- to meet the immediate needs of more than 4,000 people. CARE is providing food and basic supplies including, rice, cooking oil, tuna fish and beans, and kits containing soap, toothpaste, toilet paper, and condoms. CARE currently runs several programs in the province, focusing on HIV and AIDS, education and municipal development.
“Reducing the risk of disaster and preparing for future emergencies is crucial to cut down on any further damages and restore people’s livelihoods as quickly as possible,” said Pedro Carrasco, emergency operations coordinator for CARE in Ecuador.
The organization’s previous programs to reduce the risks of disaster and prepare for emergencies has already paid off in the evident strengthening of the Emergency Operations Centers.
v “A disaster like this has many medium and long term consequences and CARE is already planning ahead to meet emerging needs for a clean water supply and to improve management and facilities at emergency shelters,” said Peter Buijs, country director for CARE in Ecuador. “In the longer run, we will work with communities and local authorities to improve watershed management to lessen flooding after heavy rainfall and strengthen risk management,” added Buijs.
CARE has already begun a dialogue with the Ministry of Coastal Areas to institute the programs in El Oro that strengthened disaster risk and response management in other counties in the coastal provinces.
Heavy rains are expected to last at least until the end of April so there is no time to lose.
About CARE: CARE has 60 years of experience delivering emergency aid. With ongoing poverty –fighting projects in 66 countries, CARE can respond quickly anywhere in the world. Our emergency responses focus on the needs of the most vulnerable, particularly women and children. CARE has worked in Ecuador since 1962. Its current programming contributes to advancing the Millennium Development Goals, including by increasing the income of marginalized groups, improving access to and the quality of education, promoting gender equality, improving maternal health and halting the spread of HIV-AIDS and Tuberculosis. CARE also works to expand access to sustainable potable water supplies and sanitation and to build capacity for the sustainable management of natural resources and biodiversity conservation, governance, democracy and corporate social responsibility.
For more information, please contact:
Bill Dowell, CARE International, Geneva, [email protected]