Five Years After the Earthquake, Ecuador Continues to Build Disaster Resilience

Joselías Sánchez will never forget the night of April 16, 2016. He was at home with his wife and son in Manta, Ecuador, when they felt a strong tremor, the start of an earthquake that shook the entire country. When Joselías went out to the street, he found only “destruction, pain-filled darkness, cries, shouts and screams in the night,” he said.

“It was as if time had stopped,” he said. For him and thousands of other Ecuadorians, this terrible moment was marked by scenes of terror and tragedy, but also by examples of human solidarity. Looking toward the future, Joselías wants the earthquake to become "a history lesson."

A turning point

April 16 marked the fifth anniversary of the Pedernales earthquake. With a magnitude of 7.8, it was one of Ecuador's most destructive in recent history. The earthquake caused severe damage, mainly in areas of high physical and socioeconomic vulnerability. The toll was 676 deaths, 6,274 injured and 80,000 displaced. The damage to 51 healthcare facilities and 886 education centers seriously impeded access to health and educational services for months.

The Government of Ecuador estimated that reconstruction costs for the affected areas totaled USD 3.3 billion, mainly in the social, productive and infrastructure sectors (in descending order). The impact of the earthquake caused the loss of some 21,823 jobs and generated USD 515 million in losses (in terms of lost economic flows) in the productive sector.

Investing in disaster response, recovery and resilience

In response to this catastrophic event, the World Bank and the Government of Ecuador strengthened their collaboration to reinforce the national disaster risk management system and thus increase resilience to a variety of disasters and emergencies.

In the process, the Risk Mitigation and Emergency Response project has served as a catalyst for several technical assistance activities funded by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). In this context, the World Bank supported the development of strategies, guidelines and key technical guides for disaster risk management to improve the Ecuadorian government’s capacity for mitigation, response and recovery from disasters and emergencies.

How can the consequences of this type of disaster be avoided?

We always wonder if this type of event will occur again. The answer of course is yes. Earthquakes will happen again, as will volcanic eruptions and heavy rains that can cause flooding and landslides. However, the government has taken a more proactive approach and has committed to the goal of systematically strengthening pre-disaster risk reduction and post-disaster response.

One milestone in the government’s efforts was the adoption of the National Disaster Response Plan, “RespondeEc,”  in 2018 (two years after the earthquake) by the National Service for Risk and Emergency Management (SNGRE). The Plan defined procedures to minimize risks after adverse events by categorizing alert states for each type of emergency, developing guidelines to respond effectively to different scenarios, and coordinating the work of the various agencies responsible for emergency response.

In terms of disaster risk reduction, the Government of Ecuador proposed developing the National "PrevieneEc" Plan, which aims to create a complete framework to advance knowledge and integration of risk management in infrastructure projects, as well as in prevention and mitigation activities, among others, with a view to eliminating existing vulnerabilities. To this end, the World Bank supported the SNGRE in the development of risk prevention and mitigation strategies as part of the PrevieneEc Plan.

Improving financial protection and identifying the impacts of disasters and emergencies

Another key milestone that demonstrates Ecuador's commitment to comprehensive disaster risk management was the preparation of the Ecuador Disaster Risk Financing Strategy. This strategy guides the management of public resources for disaster response to guarantee support to those affected and to minimize impact on development programs. This has enabled Ecuador to join the countries that already have disaster risk financing strategies, including Mexico and Colombia.

In addition, the Ecuador COVID-19 Post-disaster Needs Assessment, prepared by the Government of Ecuador in coordination with the United Nations, the World Bank and the European Union, was the first systematic assessment to measure the initial impact of COVID-19 in the region. The study found that from March-May 2020 (the first three months of the pandemic in Ecuador), total economic losses amounted to USD 6.4 billion (6.0 percent of GDP). In April 2020, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, USD 45.8 million from the Ecuador Risk Mitigation and Emergency Recovery Project was allocated to finance aid to more than 400,000 vulnerable families.

The earthquake revealed many of Ecuador’s weaknesses and challenges. Looking to the future, there are daunting challenges to advance disaster risk reduction in the future, such as the generation of better information on risks to support decision-making, the mainstreaming of the different risks of natural and unintentional human origin in national policies, institutional strengthening to ensure adequate enforcement of regulations and improved coordination among the responsible institutions in this area.