Rains Kill One, Displace Thousands in Galapagos

Heavy rainfall in Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands has killed at least one person, left two others missing and displaced thousands of families, local authorities said on Saturday.

The downpour, which began on Friday afternoon, is suspected to be linked to the El Niño weather phenomenon.

Santa Cruz Island Mayor Fanny Uribe told AFP that the scale of the rainfall had taken residents by surprise, describing it as an unprecedented event for the island.

“This is the first time something like this has happened in Santa Cruz. We never imagined this would happen… It was a natural phenomenon that truly exceeded our expectations,” Fanny Uribe told AFP.

Images released by the ECU911 emergency service and local media showed residents of Santa Cruz, the archipelago’s most populated island, moving their belongings to safer locations.

Preliminary estimates from the Santa Cruz municipal authorities indicate that about 2,000 families have been affected.

Uribe said many households had lost all their possessions and were left with only the clothes they were wearing.

“They have lost absolutely everything. They were left with only the clothes on their backs,” Uribe said.

The ECU911 emergency service confirmed one death and said two people remained missing.

The Galapagos National Park authorities have closed four tourist sites on Santa Cruz Island and another two on San Cristobal Island.

The Galapagos archipelago is home to approximately 28,500 people living across four islands.