El Niño phenomenon: alert status changes from yellow to orange in Ecuador

The Emergency Operations Committee (COE) changed the state of alert due to the El Niño phenomenon in Ecuador. This resolution was adopted during a meeting at the ECU-911 facilities in Quito; It was chaired by Vice President Alfredo Borrero. 

The COE changed the alert status of the El Niño phenomenon in the country.

The alert status changed from yellow to orange, due to the imminent presence of this phenomenon. This decision was adopted on September 18, 2023. 

“Unanimously, the National COE learned of the report from the Oceanographic and Antarctic Institute of the Ecuadorian Navy for the issuance of an orange alert for the El Niño phenomenon. This is established under compliance with technical parameters,” said the Minister of the Interior, Juan Zapata. 

“The institutions will follow the action plan to articulate mitigation efforts against the El Niño phenomenon,” added the head of that State portfolio. 

What does the alert change imply?

Cristian Torres, National Secretary of Risk Management, said that the change in alert does not mean that rains and floods will begin today or tomorrow.

The change in alert means that “the occurrence of the El Niño phenomenon in the country is imminent.”

“It will be evident when it coincides with the rainy season, which would be in the last quarter of the year and its peak could reach the first quarter of 2024,” Torres said.

The official added that the alert change “becomes an input for ministries, prefectures, municipalities and parish councils to identify their prevention actions against the El Niño phenomenon.”