Severe flooding in Galápagos cuts off roads and causes casualties
A state of emergency has been declared on the island of Santa Cruz after heavy rainfall caused reservoirs to overflow their banks. The water has flooded residential areas, damaged roads and resulted in the death of one person in the Bellavista sector, while two residents of the Divino Niño area are missing.
The storm damaged key transport arteries, including a section of the road to Baltra and the road between Puerto Ayora and Bellavista, where the flow destroyed the roadbed and knocked down electricity poles. In Puerto Ayora, the water supply through the network stopped, which is why drinking water was organized by tanker trucks and tanks. Work on Centro de Salud Santa Cruz was also suspended due to flooding of the building.
A sports arena has been set up to provide shelter to the victims, where about 80 people have already been transported, and aviation has prepared to transfer humanitarian cargo from the mainland. Due to bad weather, aeropuerto de Baltra temporarily suspended flights, and Parque Nacional Galápagos restricted visitor access to a number of natural sites on the islands Santa Cruz and San Cristóbal.
Context
The village of Bellavista lies in the humid highlands of the island Santa Cruz, where the landscape changes abruptly from the arid coast of Puerto Ayora to cloud forests and farmland. Due to its altitude, this area regularly serves as the island's watershed, from where mountain streams flow down through rocky ravines to the coast.
This same region is a key tourist corridor Santa Cruz: it is home to the only main route to the northern Itabaca Canal and the airport on Baltra Island, as well as popular routes to volcanic lava tunnels, the Los Jemelos craters, and giant tortoise reserves.