“Mom did what she could”. That was the phrase that a young Ecuadorian mother repeated to her three-month-old baby when she was reunited after a landslide in Quilloturo, 196 kilometers south of Quito. The intense rainfall last weekend caused serious damage to roads and towns. From June 14 to June 19, there were 17 deaths, 29 injuries and 1,409 people affected.
On Sunday, heavy rain caused a landslide that buried 15 of the 30 houses in the El Placer neighborhood, in Quilloturo. The rocks and mud that fell from the mountain devastated everything and trapped the inhabitants, including her mother and her baby, whose story had a miraculous ending.
The force of the flood separated the mother from her baby. Both were covered in mud and were rescued separately. Since Sunday, the baby received medical attention at the Río Verde Health Center and was then transferred to the Basic Hospital of Baños, according to Verónica Torres, director of said hospital, to Infobae. Along with the baby, she found a 2-year-old boy from the same family group.
The little boy’s mother did not hear from her son for almost 24 hours. The flood closed the roads and cut off communications in the sector. The woman had no news about her baby until Monday, around noon, when she managed to join him in one of the hospital rooms. The meeting was recorded in a video that has been widely distributed and has moved citizens.
Seeing her son, the mother burst into tears. Her baby looked at her surprised but happy. The woman was still wearing mud-stained clothes and had a restraint on her neck. Without stopping to observe her son and without letting go of his hand, the mother listened to her health personnel inform her that the baby was unharmed of the alluvium. Except for some minor bumps, the little one was fine. The stunned mother repeated to her baby, through tears and tenderly, almost as an apology: “Mommy did what she could, daddy.”
This month’s rainy season has caused 87 events in five days, according to the eighth situation report of the National Risk Secretariat. The incidents have occurred in 13 of the country’s 24 provinces: Tungurahua, Napo, Chimborazo and Morona Santiago are the most affected. Events have included landslides, floods, landslides and undermining.
According to the official report, in the coming days, rains are expected to increase, especially in the Amazon region, the mountainous areas of the Sierra and the north and interior of the Coast. The heaviest rains will be accompanied by storms and winds, in the Amazon and the Sierra, especially until June 22. In the region Coast, the rains will be more intense to the north and in the interior, mainly during the night and early morning. In the Mountain range, there will be rains of different intensities throughout the region, especially in areas near the mountains. In the AmazonRains of different intensities are also expected, especially in the north and in areas near the mountains, accompanied by thunderstorms and winds.
To care for the victims, the Risk Secretariat installed seven temporary shelters in Baños. They assist 200 people. Likewise, more than 2,500 items have been delivered as part of humanitarian assistance such as hygiene kits, clothing, food, water, boots, among others. So far seven roads are completely closed until the machinery and rescue and cleaning teams can complete their work.
