Ecuador: One person died due to strong waves on the coasts

The National Secretariat for Risk Management (Sngre) of Ecuador warned this Saturday that it has received a report of a deceased person in a sector of the country’s coast, affected by a strong waves which has also affected northern Peru.

La Sngre, in its X network account, indicated that the Fire brigade from the coastal city of Manta, in the coastal province of Manabí, in the west of the country, reported that “The body of the missing person was found lifeless in the Barbasquillo sector.”

It would be the body of a fisherman who was declared missing last Friday after an episode caused by strong waves.

The phenomenon has hit the coastal areas of the provinces of El Oro (border with Peru), Santa Elena, Guayas and Manabí, as well as the Galapagos archipelago, about a thousand kilometers west of the continent, where they have been raised red flags on beaches dedicated to surfing on San Cristóbal Island, the easternmost of that island province.

On his side, the Navy Oceanographic and Antarctic Institute (Inocar)in charge of monitoring the conditions of the Ecuadorian sea, indicated in a statement that the country’s coastal area is affected by a “rough sea state,” with waves up to 2.1 meters high.

Inocar estimated that this condition will moderate starting December 30, when the waves decrease to heights of up to 1.8 meters.

“This natural event occurs mainly between May and January, it is due to a phenomenon known as ‘Swell’, which is characterized by the presence of long-period and continuous waves, generated by distant storms along the Pacific Ocean until reaching “our coast”added Inocar.

The ‘Sea Bottom’ is characterized by “a predominant swell from the Pacific Northwest, with high periods greater than 18 seconds,” added the Institute, which recommended that the population be on the beaches, take due precautions against the waves and be attentive to official information about the event.

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Thousands of tourists have flocked to the country’s coastal resorts as part of the year-end celebrations.

Also on the northern coast of Peru, the abnormal waves that have occurred since Friday have left fishermen trapped in their boats at sea and caused damage in several towns, as reported by the National Institute of Civil Defense (Indeci).

At least 81 ports in the coastal areas of northern and central Peru were closed due to the strong waves that occurred on Friday, while the Navy of that country warned that the phenomenon could be more intense on Saturday.