Ecuador declares 60-day state of emergency to help battle wildfires
Al Jazeera
State of emergency to allow government to send more money, people to help bring blazes under control, minister says.
Ecuador has declared a 60-day state of emergency as the South American country has been hit by a severe drought and record wildfires that have razed large swaths of territory over the past weeks.
The Ecuadorian Secretariat for Risk Management (SNGR), the country’s emergency management agency, said in a statement on Monday that the state of emergency was declared “due to forest fires, water deficit and drought”.
It will allow the government to mobilise funds and send more people to help fight the blazes, Environment Minister Ines Manzano said.
Approved by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition, it will allow the freeing of funds to tackle the multifaceted crisis, the SNGR also said.
Authorities are battling 17 active wildfires, which have primarily affected the Azuay and Loja provinces in southern Ecuador. Another five fires have recently been brought under control, the secretariat said.
