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Quito was pounded by hail and electrical storms Wednesday afternoon, then blanketed by dense fog Thursday morning. Ecuador’s weather agency forecasts intensifying rainfall through March, raising mudslide risk in the capital’s surrounding valleys.
INAMHI forecasts heavy rainfall with electrical storms across most of Ecuador through February 19, with three provinces on red alert and nine on orange. The highlands face afternoon thunderstorms, the coast faces flooding risks, and four highways remain closed from earlier weather damage.
Loja province has been placed on orange alert and emergency warehouses now hold over 6,000 humanitarian aid kits — three times the historical average. Three cantons are under active watch as the rainy season intensifies across Ecuador's southern highlands.
Overnight storms collapsed a hillside in Quito's La Bota neighborhood, damaged multiple homes, and interrupted water service. No fatalities were reported, but the incident underscores rainy-season risks in the capital's hillside neighborhoods.
Rural roads around Vilcabamba are choked with mud, drainage systems are blocked, and students in Chaguarpamba can't get to school. But there's a silver lining: the government just announced $48 million for Loja road rehabilitation, including the critical Loja-Malacatos-Vilcabamba corridor.
Ecuador’s risk management agency raised alert levels nationwide as the rainy season intensifies. Pichincha (home to Quito), Esmeraldas, and Los Ríos are at the highest level. Sixteen more provinces — including Azuay, Guayas, and Loja — sit at orange alert heading into Carnival weekend.
Heavy rains have inundated 700 hectares of farmland in Guayas province, putting approximately 38,000 agricultural producers at risk. Rice, corn, and cacao crops are the most affected as the rainy season intensifies heading into Carnival weekend.
Vice President María José Pinto launched Ecuador's 2026 National Dengue Plan and Gran Minga Comunitaria, targeting 1,532 critical sectors across seven provinces that accounted for 40% of last year's cases. Rainy season interventions begin immediately in Esmeraldas, Guayas, Santa Elena, Manabí, El Oro, Napo, and Pastaza.
Ecuador's meteorological agency is forecasting persistent heavy rains with intense storm events affecting the coast, Amazon, and parts of the Sierra through at least February 8. Flooding and landslide risks remain elevated.
Once overlooked by foreign buyers, the Pacific coast city of Manta is now one of Ecuador's hottest real estate markets, with beachfront property values climbing 25% in the past year alone.
