Landslides, homes filled with mud, and roads turned into rivers were the scenes that repeated for the fourth time in less than 15 days in Guayaquil during Thursday’s rainstorm.

This time, zones in the south, centre and north of the city were all affected by the heavy rains. Some commuters were stuck in traffic or at bus stops for hours waiting for a way home.

The force and height of the floods in peripheral neighbourhoods like Flor de Bastión, Trinitaria and Balerio Estacio destroyed some houses and left others in precarious conditions.
Roxana Ruiz, who has lived in Sergio Toral for over a decade, says this is the first time she’s had to reinforce the foundations of her house.

To do so, she used the construction debris left-over after a nearby house came tumbling down during last Tuesday’s downpour.

“Fill in the low areas, relocate the neighbourhood, I don’t know. But something has to be done so we don’t go through this every storm.”

Locals say it has been ten years since the municipality has done any work in the area.
In Bellavista, a woman’s wall gave way to a mudslide coming down the hill and her patio was filled with mud.

The Catholic University is building a sports complex behind her house. The workers had put up a chain fence reinforced with rocks and sandbags that did nothing to stop the surge. At least 41 homes in the area were left with broken or collapsed walls.