Two hours of rain flooded sectors of three parishes in Manta

Manta, MANABI

Almost two hours of rain were enough for various sectors of the Manta canton to flood and cause damage, such as the loss of belongings and even business merchandise in homes in the urban parishes of Tarqui, Los Esteros and Manta. The rain began around 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2.

Draining with pumps, brooms and buckets, people and municipal personnel and firefighters began to evacuate the water, which reached four meters high in some points, mainly in homes that are at street level, as happened in the street 14 and 10 avenue.

In February the intensity of the rains had a decrease in certain localities of the Ecuadorian Coast

There, Sebastián Enríquez, with the help of neighbors, helped evacuate two older adults who were about to be trapped in the middle of a room that flooded, according to the rescuer, in about 20 minutes.

“We had to dive under the water, which was beginning to flood the house, and we got the two ladies out; if not, they would get trapped,” said Enríquez.

Her neighbor Martha Saltos also evacuated her mother, in whose house the door was knocked down by the force of the water.

In the San José neighborhood, Luis Cantos was worried how his belongings were once again under water. He did not know if the appliances were working, because he said that in a few minutes everything he had in the living room, dining room, kitchen and other areas was flooded. Even the health service system collapsed.

“When it started to rain heavily, for more than 20 minutes, I said: ‘This is going to fill (your house)’, and in an hour and a half we were filled,” he said.

In front of the house in Cantos, Cynthia Anchundia removed water from her home together with another relative.

Anchundia lamented that, in addition to her clothes and belongings, she also lost the raw material of a small snack business that she had started and that the water took away.

“The rain didn’t give us time to lift anything. Look how we are, in four years living here, and this happens to us, ”said the woman disconsolately.

In the Los Esteros parish, in the Los Halcones court sector, the Mero Zambrano family took appliances out onto the court, such as a refrigerator, while a washing machine and televisions were raised. The rain soaked their clothes, school supplies and other goods.

“The water was so strong that the neighbors had no other option than to uncover the sewers so that the water could vent. Look, the water here in the house reached us at an altitude of about 80 centimeters and left us with great losses,” Byron Mero said.

The rain recorded on Wednesday night was the second with more intensity, which caused damage until 01:00 this Thursday, March 3. At least a dozen families had complications at home.

But, unlike the first flood that Manta suffered in January of this year, on this occasion there were about 30 points or sectors where emergencies were attended, while in the flood less than two months ago, 16 points were affected in the whole city.

Rains in Manabí generate floods and interruption of the drinking water service

Xavier Briones, an official from the Municipality of Manta, indicated that the rain was so intense that some sectors were quickly flooded, but the rapid activation of the municipal team helped to evacuate the accumulated water in houses and aid was even beginning to be channeled, such as delivery of mattresses (I)