In Tuesday’s session, led by President Guillermo Lasso, the National Committee for Emergency Operations (COE) decided to remain permanently active to coordinate response to the effects of rain and El Niño.
Last week, the Minister of Transport and Public Works, César Rohon, received criticism when he suggested in an interview that Ecuadorians should ask God not to rain so much, instead of offering concrete actions to mitigate the impact of weather events.
The Council of Europe agreed today that the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Secretariat for Risk Management, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Environmental Transition, as well as the Public Water Company, should submit an implementation schedule for the resources to be allocated. To next week for river cleanup jobs.
Likewise, the Ministry of Communications will have to implement a campaign targeting citizens, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will prepare and implement a strategy to seek international support.
Among the measures that have been arranged, the Ministry of Foreign Trade has prepared a proposed decree-law requiring economic urgency to mitigate the risks and effects of the El Niño phenomenon.
In turn, the Council of Europe asked the Risk Management Secretariat to draw up an action plan against this phenomenon, which must be submitted on June 16.
The measures come amid a tragedy in the coastal province of Esmeralda, where torrential rains caused severe flooding, six rivers burst their banks and affected 14,000 people, although experts say this situation is not the result of an El Niño phenomenon.
The current rainy season in Ecuador – known here as invierno – has resulted in more than 30 deaths, damaged roads, landslides, landslides, and thousands of hectares of crops lost.
El Niño, a global weather phenomenon that raises the temperature of sea water and causes severe floods or droughts, will affect the country in the coming months and exacerbate the situation, especially on the coast.
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