Opinion

Increase in giant sinkhole phenomenon worries Ecuador

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The frequency of the appearance of sinkholes in Ecuador worries the country. The phenomenon — mostly naturally caused by — is represented by the sudden appearance of a hole in the ground and affects 22 of the 24 Ecuadorian provinces.

The incidence of sinkholes is regularly portrayed by the local press, especially when it occurs in the middle of the city, when it causes panic among residents. Increasingly, the fear of seeing the earth open up underfoot is greater: this year, the phenomenon occurred 93 times in Ecuador, 53% more than in 2020 (59 records) and also higher than 2019, when it occurred 74 times.

The last sinkhole took place on Wednesday (22), destroying a dozen houses and a road near the Andean village of Chimbo. The ground gave way in the middle of the night. Five families were hit, and this time no one died.

In most cases, the phenomenon happens due to natural causes, as a consequence of torrential rains, drying of the water tables or the collapse of underground caves. But sometimes, the person responsible for the appearance of the opening is the man.

Two weeks ago, in the south of the country, homes and schools collapsed in Zaruma, a small town 50 kilometers from underground tunnels illegally built by clandestine miners.

In February 2020, it was the turn of Ecuador’s best-known waterfall, 150 meters high, to disappear.

“I was on my farm and I was surprised when a hole 10 meters in diameter opened up in the Coca River. Then it increased to 30 meters and, in two weeks, the São Rafael waterfall was gone”, recalls tour guide Jairo Cabrera, who lived on income from visits to the site. “Now, we no longer have the biggest and most beautiful waterfall in the country”, he laments.

Since then, the San Rafael sinkhole has caused an erosion phenomenon that destroys the river’s streams and threatens the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant, the largest in Ecuador.

Experts did not reach a consensus on the causes of the phenomenon: some point out that the waterfall was in an area with strong seismic activity, but others point out that the construction of the dam destabilized the soil.

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EcuadorenvironmentLatin AmericaleafquitoSouth America

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