Ecuador's Guayaquil shows resilience in the face of adversity

An estimated 3 million people live in the urban area of Guayaquil. According to the UN intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Guayaquil is ranked number 4 of the world’s coastal cities most at risk from rising sea levels.

So-called risk-management first brigades have been introduced as part of a collaborative program by CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere) and the municipality. Buoyed by their success, the risk-management department is pressing ahead with its decentralization efforts to help settlements at risk.

Those living at the estuaries of the rivers are most at risk in Guayaquil, not only because of flooding, but also because earthquakes could wreak havoc as a result of the inherent instability. There's a ban on the construction of houses within 15 meters of the river banks. However, the houses pictured above have been there for several years.

Emergency training simulations are held where local people are given instructions on how to react to natural disasters and other major events. In addition, a large-scale simulation is held yearly in the entire city in November.

Over the past few years more and more wildfires have been reported, due to high temperatures and longer dry periods. Droughts are becoming increasingly common. Fire services have to tackle the wildfires that often threaten the informal settlements.

The municipality has installed a video surveillance room to monitor around 1,100 cameras that have been placed around the city. Police, fire services and other authorities use the technology to be able to respond swiftly to crime as well as to the outbreak of natural disasters.

Monica Menéndez, sub-director of the Management Risk Department in Guayaquil, visits the committees to listen to their concerns and offer help. "Good organization is key. First we invest in helping these informal districts to organize themselves, next we train them, and afterwards we visit them in order to make them sustainable as political organs that try to improve their neighborhoods."

Ashley Villacres (center) is part of a new risk-management committee in Monte Sinai, one of the poorest informal settlements. She recounts how after first-aid training she was able to rescue a boy at school who had taken an overdose. "I felt in control and knew exactly what steps to take."