For the fifth day in a row, rescue work continues there after last Sunday’s avalanche, although hopes of finding someone alive under the tons of dirt and debris are fading.
According to official figures, there are still 67 missing, which is why rescue workers, firefighters and the military, despite the threat of new landslides due to the persistent rains and the existence of cracks in the upper part of Ground Zero, remain the rocky mountains.
The gigantic avalanche destroyed much of the community’s infrastructure, including 57 houses that collapsed completely and another 163 with minor damage.
The day before, the Ministry of Transport and Public Works declared the road network of the Andean province of Chimborazo a state of emergency to speed up repairs and restore Alausí’s road connection with other areas.
After the disaster – which residents say the government was warned about and did nothing about – residents in other vulnerable areas of the country evacuated their homes this Friday, fearing an event similar to Alausí’s.
About 80 residents of the municipality of La Cría in the province of Azuay in southern Ecuador were moving into makeshift shelters when cracks appeared in the slopes of the mountain surrounding the town, cutting through fields, sports fields and various plots of land.
npg/avr