Road Damage in Manabí

The province of Manabí was one of the most heavily destructed regions affected by the April 16 earthquake in Ecuador. Many roads and bridges have been significantly damaged, making travel in and out of Manabí congested and in some instances, dangerous. Earthquake induced landslides have made travel to the hard-hit coast difficult. One such road connecting El Carmen and Pedernales was obstructed by an earthquake induced landslide, preventing humanitarian aid carrying water and food supplies from being able to enter initially. Heavy machinery cleared the blockage on April 17th. Another landslide occurred on April 20th, again hindering people from traveling to the coastal town of Pedernales. At the time, this was the only main route to Pedernales.

While most roads have reopened as of May 4th, several major arteries of the region have limited accessibility. In addition to the sever damage to roads of Manabí, the Port ‘Autoridad Portuaria de Manta’ is not operational.

Figure 1. El Carmen – Pedernales Road After Landslide.	Figure 2. People walk over road obstructed by landslide.
Figure 3. Road in Portoviejo, Manabí.	Figure 4. Road entrance to the Portoviejo: collapsed Mejia bridge (Twitter post).