The official visited the province of Santa Elena on Tuesday, which, according to forecasts, will be the most affected by the climate event, the consequences of which will appear in this country located in the Andes mountains more in the last quarter of the year.
As Zapata told Channel Ecuador, at the national level, they have already identified 60 places of temporary residence, although he admits that this number is not enough and they will have to look for more places.
The effects of the El Niño phenomenon will coincide with the change of government in the country, after the early elections on August 20, although the preparations for facing the event are consistent with the current administration.
Experts predict more than 80% chance that this phenomenon will be of moderate to low intensity and 56% chance that it will be of moderate to high intensity.
The Risk Management Secretariat estimates that 2.3 million people in 17 provinces will be affected by severe weather, mainly due to floods or landslides.
On June 24, the Council of Europe approved an action plan to deal with the meteorological situation.
If the worst-case scenario happens, costs for Ecuador could reach $4 billion.
In addition, the country lacks strategic reserves of rice, corn and soybeans to meet a context of this magnitude, according to local press reports.
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