More than 30 people had been rescued as of Tuesday afternoon, after the landslide that occurred on Sunday that devastated a sector of the city of Alausí, in the center of the Ecuadorian Andes, and caused at least eight deaths.
The most recent report from the Ecuadorian authorities on this tragedy indicates that 32 people have been rescued since the start of the search and rescue operations.
The landslide in Cerro Casual, in the upper area of Alausí, left 30 injured, 500 affected and 97 displaced, according to the Ecuadorian authorities.
Damage was also reported to 163 homes, a stadium and an educational center, with 2.32 kilometers of roads suffering serious damage.
The authorities adapted four temporary shelters in safe places in Alausí, but only three housed a total of 24 families.
Other families, despite not having been affected by the tragedy, decided to leave their homes at the risk of another similar event happening again.
Fire brigades from eight different cities participate in the rescue efforts, as well as teams of rescue specialists, along with personnel from other State institutions and local residents who try to help with hand tools.
The possibility of a large landslide had already been pointed out to the authorities in December by the inhabitants of Alausí, when several faults were detected in the hill that, over the weeks, exceeded one meter in width.
The Risk Management Secretariat mentioned that it sent the governor of the province of Chimborazo and the mayor of Alausí a technical report, on March 11, in which it recommended and requested the evacuation of the population, among other measures.
Source: TSF
