The government had declared a red alert in 20 of the country’s 24 provinces due to the worst water shortage that Ecuador has experienced in the last 60 years
Ecuador has declared a “state of national emergency” due to water shortages, drought and forest fires that have swept the country’s south, where more than 100,000 hectares of vegetation burned in November, an official source said today.
OR Minister of the Environment Ines Manzano “confirmed the declaration of a state of emergency for forest fires, water scarcity and drought, due to the scale and impact of the events recorded to date at the national level“, the national Risk Management Secretariat announced in a press release.
This measure will be applied for “a period of 60 days”, the text specifies.
Based on the state of emergency, the authorities will be able to disburse necessary financial resources in the fight against the fires, which are raging in the provinces of Azuay (south) and Loja (on the border with Peru).
In September, the government had declared in red alert 20 out of 24 provinces of the country due to the worst water shortage that Ecuador has experienced in the last 60 years.
This water scarcity has led to a very severe crisis in the electricity sector (70% of which is provided by hydroelectric plants) and translates into blackouts lasting up to 14 hours a day.
To date, “17 fires are active and five are under control at the national level, mainly affecting the provinces of Azwai and Loha,” the national Secretariat for Risk Management said.
Only in the month of November, about 100,000 acres of vegetation burned in these two provinces. According to the authorities, these are arsons, with the main aim of creating agricultural lands.
“Some (suspects) were identified“, assured today Christian Zamora, mayor of the city of Cuenca, capital of Azuay, adding that lawsuits have been filed with the prosecutor’s office.
According to the national Risk Management Secretariat, between January and November, the country recorded more than 5,100 forest fireswhich killed 6 people, injured 45 others and destroyed more than 400,000 acres. Since the beginning of the year, Loha is the province with the highest number of burned hectares (29,562), followed by Azwai (7,773) and Pichincha (6,192).
Source: Skai
I have worked as a journalist for over 10 years, and my work has been featured on many different news websites. I am also an author, and my work has been published in several books. I specialize in opinion writing, and I often write about current events and controversial topics. I am a very well-rounded writer, and I have a lot of experience in different areas of journalism. I am a very hard worker, and I am always willing to put in the extra effort to get the job done.
