Earthquake in Ecuador Manabi Portov
Donation protected
My Name is Ann and I desperately want to help raise funds for my friends son's village who lives out in Ecuador. He is originally from Hexham and desperately needs our help. Please read his story below from the blog he is currently writting. The funds raised will be forwarded on to the people of his village to help rebuild their lives, to get some form of normality.
Ecuador earthquake 16-04-2016 the night Manabi fellIt was a normal Saturday like any other except my football team Newcastle United had beaten Swansea 3-0 earlier that day so i was on a high, my wife was working at the shopping Centre her shift finished at 4pm, we got back home started making the tea and about 6.30 most of us had ate, just as I was about to get mine, a tremor!
I have experienced a few in my time living here what I thought was strong in the past didn´t get a look in to what was about to happen, the second the windows started chatting and objects falling on to the floor we all knew get the hell out now.
So we did just that we grabbed our son and headed to the middle of the road, no sooner we did this the tremor turned into a living nightmare, all the cars were bouncing around in every direction possible retaining walls were splitting and to keep your balance was so difficult, I tried to stay as calm as possible keeping my family close to me, but children were screaming in Spanish that they didn´t want to die please stop ,please stop, glass smashing alarms going off, never had I felt so helpless in all my life, then I spotted my next door neighbors son trying to run up the hill screaming for his dad that was still in the house with mother and baby, I helped him to the door waiting for his dad to answer, he did eventually after as you can imagine relieved to have a hold of his son again, we all went back to the middle of the road, I can´t recall how long this went on for, but it felt like a life time, the power went out complete darkness then all of a sudden it stopped.
I thought I was imagining it but still there was screaming all over the complex young kids petrified, my boy had also just witnessed firsthand a complete natural disaster, but he didn´t cry or scream once, we both assured him he was fine and safe with us all the way through regardless of the fear coming from our voices,
The first reaction was to call my wife’s parents as they live on flatter ground, but the phones were down, communication was out of the picture, we walked towards our neighbors ensuring they were all ok kids so shook up praying that it wouldn´t happen again and so was I, everyone explaining their story with desperation where they were when it started, some upstairs laying down with their children then having to maneuver down the stairs being thrown from pillar to post ‘others having a shower or cooking like us.
The lady 2 doors up from us suddenly received a phone call, it was her husband who is in the USA working, he had saw it on the news and had tried to contact her for over an hour, helpless he suggested to stay with us while he contacted other family members to come to the house asap.
All neighbors from different areas of our complex walked around the vicinity carrying torches checking on everyone´s wellbeing, by now everyone was outside wondering what to do, mattresses were out for the children, while others tried to get some form of radio signal, about an hour later the policeman who lives a few doors away from me came back on his motor bike distraught, he began showing us photos of the Centre of the town big buildings had subsided and houses had also fallen, some people were trapped and others were dead on the scene, people from the town made their way to our complex to reunite with families that live here, all with their own story , cars had simply been swallowed up, houses had come down so fast certain areas were unrecognizable, but still we didn´t know the extent of the damage,
Minutes later my wife´s mother finally got through to us the house itself hadn´t been affected, but the walls surrounding her house had taken a hit, we reassured her that we were ok and just outside waiting for further instructions. She was worried about her other daughters who were up in Quito as there was no signal at all from there, the radio hat stated there was a hit there also, so my wife was also desperate to hear from them,
One of the lads up the road eventually got a radio signal from his truck and simply turned it up full volume for everyone to hear, Esmeraldas was mentioned a beach resort at the top of Ecuador, then Perdenales was mentioned this was the center of the earthquake moments later it had been confirmed that 70% of that area had been destroyed and that people were trapped still others had died, this shock wave had gone all the way down the coast Jama, San Clemente all the way down to Santa Elena in Guayas, Portoviejo had also been hit bad especially the center of the town as previously stated.7.8 was the reading stronger than the one in Japan that just happened days before, connected? Manabí had fallen and everyone was in despair what to do next?
My wife´s family in Quito finally got through, they were ok but again from listening to the radio were told the coast and all of Manabí was hit the most, the whole country had no power,
I forget what time it was but the government issued messages through text to peoples phones 1 for everyone to stay calm, do not go out driving your vehicles, then the 2nd message was full evacuation alert from Esmeraldas Manabí and Santa Elena possible Tsunami warning, everyone living on the beach head for the hills now.
By this time a group of us had set up a little camp outside the houses blankets for the kids just sitting waiting, another neighbor who had family in Chone received a call stating her family were ok, but their house was destroyed and other neighbors the same nothing left.
San Clemente the same all the old beach houses had just dropped as if they were made of glass, quite concerning as I know a few people living out that way also who I only have connection with via the internet.
My wife’s fathers house had also been hit he said there was a huge crack going along the ground, previously to a of this Portoviejo and surrounding areas had been hit with floods due to the Rio Portoviejo bursting recently,
My brother In law who has family in playa preta outside of Portoviejo said there had been numerous casualties some dead houses destroyed, but his family were safe all together regardless of the buildings falling down around them.
The night as you can imagine seemed to last for a decade some slept outside until the rain hit, others slept close to the front door, 230am another tremor occurred nowhere near as strong but it was enough to get everyone startled again,
At 7am that morning Sunday 17th,we decided to go to my wife’s mothers house assess the damage and ensure everyone was ok, the city and roads around were far too dangerous to go down gaping holes and buildings still hanging on, so we drove around the outside of the city called the Paseo lateral, like a bypass, there we saw many houses affected walls completely smashed, houses on its side, brick work all over the floor, transformers and over line cables scattered all over the road hanging on to the damaged poles, some large cracks in the road had also occurred, it was a reality that all flat land areas had been hit worse than us, forgot to mention after inspecting our house none of them had suffered any structural damage nor shown any sign of cracks accounted for 85 houses in our project all fine, these were built specifically to with stand this kind of disaster, and they had certainly been put to the test, but it wasn´t about us it was about the rest of the population, the further we got in the worse it looked, As we were driving all the petrol stations were full everyone was in panic mode filling up containers motor bikes all vehicles, bottled water was also being bought up so fast, when we reached my wife’s mothers house we realized her neighbor’s house had been completely ripped apart it was just being held up, but all walls had shattered again as though it were glass, what was once their home looked like a bomb site, the best they could do with the situation, was set up a camp with some plastic sheets and sticks to cover them from last night’s rain. People had been injured an old man had fallen down the stairs that night and injured both his ankles couldn´t walk and was in need of medical treatment, I was happy to take him but some other guy came and took him.
After hearing stories from my wife’s mother it was apparent this area was worse all peoples possessions had been destroyed nothing left to call home, which puts life into perspective they will never bounce back from this, they can´t rebuild they have no money now, yes some people will eventually repair the damage but not everyone, remember this is not a rich country there was poverty before and there is certainly poverty now.
Ecuador was in dire straits prior to this, but from the increase in oil prices it seemed that maybe they were just about to turn a corner and people were relieved that there was a small percent of worry lifted of their shoulders, but since the floods and now this tragic Earthquake the province of Manabí is in turmoil, I will try my best to help people but financially I am not in a position to do this, so I am asking for your help some kind of donation in order to begin helping people, I can´t help all of Portoviejo but I can start by helping people near by
We are now onto Monday the 18th reported that more injuries and the death toll is increasing each day especially in Perdenales I have power to the house, but at least 60% of Portoviejo does not, which is how I am managing to type this, no internet so can´t imagine this being posted any time soon, so as each day goes by I will update until this is fully published.
Monday 18th we have had 2 more tremors this morning, we have felt movement but very mild, experts have said on the radio that there could well be more to come and prepare for the worst, this could come later today, tomorrow next week or even a month later, they can´t tell but this is all we know, you may have more information from around the word, but we are simply sitting ducks here.
Since there is no water in the cistern we went to my sister in laws house that is not being lived in, she has water so I began filling up water geezers and making 8 or 9 trips to and from my house to fill up our system, with the water not coming through I expect the men who carry water on the trucks will be charging ridiculous prices, but as of now they have nothing to sell.
My fiend Marlon came up to my house on his bike, conserving his petrol in his car and also worried in case someone took his car from him, reports being made that if a police demanded his car for any reason he would have to surrender it, his family still had no power to the house, and with temperatures rising the house was like a giant cooker unbearable to be there in his words.
He explained the night of the earthquake he was dropping off the maid a her house in Picouaza, just as he did that he began reversing the car and felt an almighty thud, he thought he had killed someone looking through the rear view mirror people were running towards him shouting at him, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying, then he realized he hadn´t hit anyone at all people were screaming get the hell out of your car a fucking earthquake man a fucking earthquake they said in Spanish, again he could only describe this as a living nightmare buildings instantly dropped posts came down electrical cables all of the place, while his car was being tossed around the road in every direction, he just recalls having his hands over his head praying that this was going to end fast.
As soon as it was over he dived into his car luckily nothing had fallen onto it, and began to drive, people screaming let me in take me to the hospital, so he said get in, he drove a few meters then they jumped back out and ran to their truck that had been left nearby, then Marlon as far as I know just headed directly to his mother’s house and stayed there since.
1998 was the last time there was real damage mainly in the coastal town of Bahia, which ripped the place apart, but this recent earthquake has reportedly destroyed everything we know about the Manabí region , the news stations have eventually got signal, so instead of listening on the radio, we can now see at my house, the images are terrible, for an example a typical restaurant that sold chicken with a bar on the floor above had completely collapsed nothing left unrecognizable, the only way we could tell was by looking at the building adjacent to which we recognized straight away.
The hotel Emperador that I stayed in many years ago when I first came here on holiday, completely wiped out, the san Antonio clinic crushed like a sandwich, the drone on the TV simply hovering all over Portoviejo in a live feed showing us all areas affected, the need for structural engineers/architects have been raised, they need to distinguish what buildings can be potentially saved if any, or just pull them down when they cross their path, all dozers excavators dump trucks are all out in force now as they begin lifting al the debris.
Mexico is the first country to come to our aid, they have flown over medical supplies, the Ecuadorian army is coming from all over the country not all working around the clock no days off for any of the forces including police now issued by president Rafael Correa, who is trying his best in every way possible to help his people.
Since food and water is a worry as soon as we heard that there was 1 super market open known as super aki and banco Guayaquil cashpoint was open on avenue Manabí we all decided that we must go there ASAP.
The old lady next door asked if we could get her a few things as she had no way of getting down there, so we went to avenue Manabí within minutes of hearing the news, but when we got there disappointment, it had ran out of money and the system had gone offline. No cash still?
My wife’s father rang us and said he knew of people who had used their credit or debit card that day at the super market so just head there now.
So we went to the first super aki that was nearest weaving in and out of roads some were closed and we were redirected many times, but we got there after witnessing even more damage on the way, the super market was heavily guarded by the army major lock down, my wife and Marlon got out the car while me and my son parked the car further up the road, but moments later they returned, they were not accepting any form of card only cash.
We contacted my wife’s father who told us to drive to the other super aki, that was the one that was accepting the cards, so we headed that way, traffic was mayhem roads suddenly being closed, thinking how to get to the destination was becoming tricky, so we had to drive by the bus station and towards the bridge, that was heavily guarded by police, as soon as we got there another tremor occurred, car began to sway and people were losing their balance on their motorbikes, the police then closed off the passage to the bridge at that time it was full of traffic and not safe,
We drove back round in a circle and ditched the car near my father in laws house, which was still flooded from days before, not other cars there so it was fine , my father in law accompanied us to the super market , as we walked pass the police at the bridge we noticed the Chevrolet dealership to the left, what once had over 30 cars on the forecourt had completely subsided all of the trucks and cars had landed in the river, upside don on their sides some still on all 4 wheels total mess!
All the diggers were there trying to pull them out, while a man was wading into the river swimming underneath to hook the cars up with the chains how he saw anything under that water amazed me it was brown colored water.
As soon as we got past the bridge we saw a line of people heading towards a big army truck, they were giving out aid in forms of small food packs, I believe things like rice tuna and cola were in that bag? Clearly none of these people had any money on them nor a card, and looking at how they were dressed, looks like they had evacuated their homes, I felt so sad looking at them kids especially, I just hope they all get some food to tide them over.
We got to the supermarket again heavily guarded with guns many people coming I and out, bare essentials we got a shit load of rice, tuna sardines, anything that would keep along with bread colas milk beans lentils that kind of thing, because we don´t know if we can do this again no money coming in from any of us, all relieved when they said our debit card was accepted, once we did our shopping and Marlon the same we all headed out hands full of bags, clearly bought too much to carry, but it had to be done couldn’t leave it there, now this was the worst thing ever, I felt so bad, people looking at us as though to say you bastards you have all of that food and we have nothing, but my father in law simply rushed us on and said don´t stop walking, but we were not the only ones going to that super market people would ask us if it was still open as they walked passed they had the same intentions so the guilt disappeared.
Eventually got to the car loaded up and headed home, but close by we noticed the criminalistica building, which once processed cars like ensuring they were not stolen, was being used as a morgue bodies being spread out all over the premises, huge lump in my throat those poor people, we carried on got back home then sorted out all the shopping Marlon´s and ours.
While blocking out what we had just saw, I think it was a huge weight of us knowing that we had enough food to last us even if it was the basic necessities, because trying to obtain all of this was pretty much impossible, where we live, drinking water is very difficult to get a hold of, again just sheer luck a resident in our complex had some on his truck selling for a profit, but what would you do? No other places you could buy it.
My neighbor Lily had internet on her phone and knew I hadn´t spoken to my family so she set the Wi-Fi up on the laptop, but internet was not consistent so it could go at any time.
Straight away I went to Facebook, where I saw endless amounts of notifications inboxes etc., so thought I had best start with the inboxes my family first, I reassured them we were all safe and secure, yes it was terrible what was going on, but we still have our health and sent them our telephone numbers that are now working,
On my wall my brother in law Esteban from Quito had kindly put me down as being ok from the earthquake on an earthquake bulleting thing, so as I was in the dark as to who knew of all this, clearly my friends and family knew we were fine.
So I wrote a post stating that I appreciated all their loving messages and began explaining some of the situation but not all of it, the fact that the internet was not good meant that I would most likely be cut again, so left it that I would update everyone once we establish a better connection.
Again my inboxes had the same messages of concern lovely to see it does keep you going just a quick distraction can make your day fee that little bit better even if it is only a few minutes.
Since there was a little water in the cistern at my sister in laws we went for a shower probably the first since Friday Saturday? My sister Amanda then called, I was so pleased to hear from her and as soon as she spoke I felt like crying especially when I spoke to my niece Amy, I didn’t want to tell her everything so kept it simple and less gruesome if that is how you would describe it? Trying to explain everything to my sister at 100 mph went on for a while until I slowed down and simply explained the situation what was happening, and really the main problem is what do we do next?
The province is destroyed who the hell would want to come over here now to live?, just as the country had turned the corner as a whole with oil prices increasing this happens so soul destroying for every Ecuadorian who had great expectations, you can´t deny it this country needs help now
We have no money jobs are gone, can´t sell anything because no one has money, yes from my point of view I think we would all love nothing better than to have the option of going back home to England, but then no doubt we have a visa issue for my wife, will the uk even let us in? myself and my son both hold British passports but it is my wife that needs the visa each time we go, and after the last time of doing it twice first time rejected for a short holiday the other year, it’s not so straight forward, so back to reality that kind of dream is no other than a dream at present, stuck here so get on with it, others don’t even have an option of leaving.
Tuesday 19th the president is now here trying to organize the police army and rescue services, there are still bodies being pulled out 60 hours after the disaster a woman briefly on the news was still alive being rescued from a small space 60 cm high by 80 cm width
The people of Guayaquil and Quito are gathering up supplies mainly water rice and tuna to assist people in need here, never have I seen a country so hell bent on producing the goods everyone is working around the clock in this heat, although people have been donating clothes it has been drinking water high on the list, the men that carry the tanks of water for sanitation purposes are charging up to $50 dollars robbing bastards! No one can afford that so we all hope and wait that water will come back soon, or start getting it from the river nearby heard rumors of other countries coming to help but nothing on the news yet.
Wednesday 20th where there is devastation there is also crime, a mixture of businesses being targeted and now residents being potentially robbed people have been chased from my neighborhood many times, people trying to break in to residents homes late at night, but the main concern is there have already been a few cases of people dressing up impersonating the army once they enter the premises they go on a robbing spree, so we are keeping a close eye on the gates
I haven´t bothered myself for grammar spell checking anything like that, so don´t shoot me down for it, this is not a novel simply a cry for help not just by me, but the whole city that I live in,
I can´t help the whole province, but I hope I can help some people close by, who have nothing other than a plastic sheet to live under. Money is key here, everyone Is now realizing that we are on the same level, people who have the flash cars can no longer run them, so they are ditched at the road side. What was once a thriving community on the up, has now declined rapidly, starting life at the very beginning now.
How can I help? The only way to do this and be effective, My only idea is using my pay pal account as a means or gateway for donation, from then I must use western union to transfer over here it is the only means of bringing money into this country, I hope we can then begin helping families in need here, although the government are trying their best there is no way they can help everyone, at the most they can hand out water, but even then the people who are living away from that resource can´t get there to form a line as it is too far , the banks are unreliable I hear one or 2 could be going bankrupt,they are just waiting to make a decision. it is really the only option, I wouldn´t ask anyone if I didn´t feel the need, but as you can see for yourself this act of kindness will really help people here direct rather than deciding who deserves and who doesn´t , I will be eternally grateful for any kind of help you can give, this is not going to be over and back to normal any time soon this is going to be long hard process before any kind of normality is established.
There is no pressure I won´t hold anything against you, in fairness it is not your problem and the whole charity starts at home first I totally understand.
If you could share the hell out of this post in your local groups public profiles social media anything that you may think will help then please do so, maybe what I have wrote will do some good?, I hope I am not the only person trying to reach out to people via a measly blog post, but for now this is all I can do. Ecuador will only recover through help
Thanks for reading please share this
Si Kendrick
Ecuador earthquake 16-04-2016 the night Manabi fellIt was a normal Saturday like any other except my football team Newcastle United had beaten Swansea 3-0 earlier that day so i was on a high, my wife was working at the shopping Centre her shift finished at 4pm, we got back home started making the tea and about 6.30 most of us had ate, just as I was about to get mine, a tremor!
I have experienced a few in my time living here what I thought was strong in the past didn´t get a look in to what was about to happen, the second the windows started chatting and objects falling on to the floor we all knew get the hell out now.
So we did just that we grabbed our son and headed to the middle of the road, no sooner we did this the tremor turned into a living nightmare, all the cars were bouncing around in every direction possible retaining walls were splitting and to keep your balance was so difficult, I tried to stay as calm as possible keeping my family close to me, but children were screaming in Spanish that they didn´t want to die please stop ,please stop, glass smashing alarms going off, never had I felt so helpless in all my life, then I spotted my next door neighbors son trying to run up the hill screaming for his dad that was still in the house with mother and baby, I helped him to the door waiting for his dad to answer, he did eventually after as you can imagine relieved to have a hold of his son again, we all went back to the middle of the road, I can´t recall how long this went on for, but it felt like a life time, the power went out complete darkness then all of a sudden it stopped.
I thought I was imagining it but still there was screaming all over the complex young kids petrified, my boy had also just witnessed firsthand a complete natural disaster, but he didn´t cry or scream once, we both assured him he was fine and safe with us all the way through regardless of the fear coming from our voices,
The first reaction was to call my wife’s parents as they live on flatter ground, but the phones were down, communication was out of the picture, we walked towards our neighbors ensuring they were all ok kids so shook up praying that it wouldn´t happen again and so was I, everyone explaining their story with desperation where they were when it started, some upstairs laying down with their children then having to maneuver down the stairs being thrown from pillar to post ‘others having a shower or cooking like us.
The lady 2 doors up from us suddenly received a phone call, it was her husband who is in the USA working, he had saw it on the news and had tried to contact her for over an hour, helpless he suggested to stay with us while he contacted other family members to come to the house asap.
All neighbors from different areas of our complex walked around the vicinity carrying torches checking on everyone´s wellbeing, by now everyone was outside wondering what to do, mattresses were out for the children, while others tried to get some form of radio signal, about an hour later the policeman who lives a few doors away from me came back on his motor bike distraught, he began showing us photos of the Centre of the town big buildings had subsided and houses had also fallen, some people were trapped and others were dead on the scene, people from the town made their way to our complex to reunite with families that live here, all with their own story , cars had simply been swallowed up, houses had come down so fast certain areas were unrecognizable, but still we didn´t know the extent of the damage,
Minutes later my wife´s mother finally got through to us the house itself hadn´t been affected, but the walls surrounding her house had taken a hit, we reassured her that we were ok and just outside waiting for further instructions. She was worried about her other daughters who were up in Quito as there was no signal at all from there, the radio hat stated there was a hit there also, so my wife was also desperate to hear from them,
One of the lads up the road eventually got a radio signal from his truck and simply turned it up full volume for everyone to hear, Esmeraldas was mentioned a beach resort at the top of Ecuador, then Perdenales was mentioned this was the center of the earthquake moments later it had been confirmed that 70% of that area had been destroyed and that people were trapped still others had died, this shock wave had gone all the way down the coast Jama, San Clemente all the way down to Santa Elena in Guayas, Portoviejo had also been hit bad especially the center of the town as previously stated.7.8 was the reading stronger than the one in Japan that just happened days before, connected? Manabí had fallen and everyone was in despair what to do next?
My wife´s family in Quito finally got through, they were ok but again from listening to the radio were told the coast and all of Manabí was hit the most, the whole country had no power,
I forget what time it was but the government issued messages through text to peoples phones 1 for everyone to stay calm, do not go out driving your vehicles, then the 2nd message was full evacuation alert from Esmeraldas Manabí and Santa Elena possible Tsunami warning, everyone living on the beach head for the hills now.
By this time a group of us had set up a little camp outside the houses blankets for the kids just sitting waiting, another neighbor who had family in Chone received a call stating her family were ok, but their house was destroyed and other neighbors the same nothing left.
San Clemente the same all the old beach houses had just dropped as if they were made of glass, quite concerning as I know a few people living out that way also who I only have connection with via the internet.
My wife’s fathers house had also been hit he said there was a huge crack going along the ground, previously to a of this Portoviejo and surrounding areas had been hit with floods due to the Rio Portoviejo bursting recently,
My brother In law who has family in playa preta outside of Portoviejo said there had been numerous casualties some dead houses destroyed, but his family were safe all together regardless of the buildings falling down around them.
The night as you can imagine seemed to last for a decade some slept outside until the rain hit, others slept close to the front door, 230am another tremor occurred nowhere near as strong but it was enough to get everyone startled again,
At 7am that morning Sunday 17th,we decided to go to my wife’s mothers house assess the damage and ensure everyone was ok, the city and roads around were far too dangerous to go down gaping holes and buildings still hanging on, so we drove around the outside of the city called the Paseo lateral, like a bypass, there we saw many houses affected walls completely smashed, houses on its side, brick work all over the floor, transformers and over line cables scattered all over the road hanging on to the damaged poles, some large cracks in the road had also occurred, it was a reality that all flat land areas had been hit worse than us, forgot to mention after inspecting our house none of them had suffered any structural damage nor shown any sign of cracks accounted for 85 houses in our project all fine, these were built specifically to with stand this kind of disaster, and they had certainly been put to the test, but it wasn´t about us it was about the rest of the population, the further we got in the worse it looked, As we were driving all the petrol stations were full everyone was in panic mode filling up containers motor bikes all vehicles, bottled water was also being bought up so fast, when we reached my wife’s mothers house we realized her neighbor’s house had been completely ripped apart it was just being held up, but all walls had shattered again as though it were glass, what was once their home looked like a bomb site, the best they could do with the situation, was set up a camp with some plastic sheets and sticks to cover them from last night’s rain. People had been injured an old man had fallen down the stairs that night and injured both his ankles couldn´t walk and was in need of medical treatment, I was happy to take him but some other guy came and took him.
After hearing stories from my wife’s mother it was apparent this area was worse all peoples possessions had been destroyed nothing left to call home, which puts life into perspective they will never bounce back from this, they can´t rebuild they have no money now, yes some people will eventually repair the damage but not everyone, remember this is not a rich country there was poverty before and there is certainly poverty now.
Ecuador was in dire straits prior to this, but from the increase in oil prices it seemed that maybe they were just about to turn a corner and people were relieved that there was a small percent of worry lifted of their shoulders, but since the floods and now this tragic Earthquake the province of Manabí is in turmoil, I will try my best to help people but financially I am not in a position to do this, so I am asking for your help some kind of donation in order to begin helping people, I can´t help all of Portoviejo but I can start by helping people near by
We are now onto Monday the 18th reported that more injuries and the death toll is increasing each day especially in Perdenales I have power to the house, but at least 60% of Portoviejo does not, which is how I am managing to type this, no internet so can´t imagine this being posted any time soon, so as each day goes by I will update until this is fully published.
Monday 18th we have had 2 more tremors this morning, we have felt movement but very mild, experts have said on the radio that there could well be more to come and prepare for the worst, this could come later today, tomorrow next week or even a month later, they can´t tell but this is all we know, you may have more information from around the word, but we are simply sitting ducks here.
Since there is no water in the cistern we went to my sister in laws house that is not being lived in, she has water so I began filling up water geezers and making 8 or 9 trips to and from my house to fill up our system, with the water not coming through I expect the men who carry water on the trucks will be charging ridiculous prices, but as of now they have nothing to sell.
My fiend Marlon came up to my house on his bike, conserving his petrol in his car and also worried in case someone took his car from him, reports being made that if a police demanded his car for any reason he would have to surrender it, his family still had no power to the house, and with temperatures rising the house was like a giant cooker unbearable to be there in his words.
He explained the night of the earthquake he was dropping off the maid a her house in Picouaza, just as he did that he began reversing the car and felt an almighty thud, he thought he had killed someone looking through the rear view mirror people were running towards him shouting at him, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying, then he realized he hadn´t hit anyone at all people were screaming get the hell out of your car a fucking earthquake man a fucking earthquake they said in Spanish, again he could only describe this as a living nightmare buildings instantly dropped posts came down electrical cables all of the place, while his car was being tossed around the road in every direction, he just recalls having his hands over his head praying that this was going to end fast.
As soon as it was over he dived into his car luckily nothing had fallen onto it, and began to drive, people screaming let me in take me to the hospital, so he said get in, he drove a few meters then they jumped back out and ran to their truck that had been left nearby, then Marlon as far as I know just headed directly to his mother’s house and stayed there since.
1998 was the last time there was real damage mainly in the coastal town of Bahia, which ripped the place apart, but this recent earthquake has reportedly destroyed everything we know about the Manabí region , the news stations have eventually got signal, so instead of listening on the radio, we can now see at my house, the images are terrible, for an example a typical restaurant that sold chicken with a bar on the floor above had completely collapsed nothing left unrecognizable, the only way we could tell was by looking at the building adjacent to which we recognized straight away.
The hotel Emperador that I stayed in many years ago when I first came here on holiday, completely wiped out, the san Antonio clinic crushed like a sandwich, the drone on the TV simply hovering all over Portoviejo in a live feed showing us all areas affected, the need for structural engineers/architects have been raised, they need to distinguish what buildings can be potentially saved if any, or just pull them down when they cross their path, all dozers excavators dump trucks are all out in force now as they begin lifting al the debris.
Mexico is the first country to come to our aid, they have flown over medical supplies, the Ecuadorian army is coming from all over the country not all working around the clock no days off for any of the forces including police now issued by president Rafael Correa, who is trying his best in every way possible to help his people.
Since food and water is a worry as soon as we heard that there was 1 super market open known as super aki and banco Guayaquil cashpoint was open on avenue Manabí we all decided that we must go there ASAP.
The old lady next door asked if we could get her a few things as she had no way of getting down there, so we went to avenue Manabí within minutes of hearing the news, but when we got there disappointment, it had ran out of money and the system had gone offline. No cash still?
My wife’s father rang us and said he knew of people who had used their credit or debit card that day at the super market so just head there now.
So we went to the first super aki that was nearest weaving in and out of roads some were closed and we were redirected many times, but we got there after witnessing even more damage on the way, the super market was heavily guarded by the army major lock down, my wife and Marlon got out the car while me and my son parked the car further up the road, but moments later they returned, they were not accepting any form of card only cash.
We contacted my wife’s father who told us to drive to the other super aki, that was the one that was accepting the cards, so we headed that way, traffic was mayhem roads suddenly being closed, thinking how to get to the destination was becoming tricky, so we had to drive by the bus station and towards the bridge, that was heavily guarded by police, as soon as we got there another tremor occurred, car began to sway and people were losing their balance on their motorbikes, the police then closed off the passage to the bridge at that time it was full of traffic and not safe,
We drove back round in a circle and ditched the car near my father in laws house, which was still flooded from days before, not other cars there so it was fine , my father in law accompanied us to the super market , as we walked pass the police at the bridge we noticed the Chevrolet dealership to the left, what once had over 30 cars on the forecourt had completely subsided all of the trucks and cars had landed in the river, upside don on their sides some still on all 4 wheels total mess!
All the diggers were there trying to pull them out, while a man was wading into the river swimming underneath to hook the cars up with the chains how he saw anything under that water amazed me it was brown colored water.
As soon as we got past the bridge we saw a line of people heading towards a big army truck, they were giving out aid in forms of small food packs, I believe things like rice tuna and cola were in that bag? Clearly none of these people had any money on them nor a card, and looking at how they were dressed, looks like they had evacuated their homes, I felt so sad looking at them kids especially, I just hope they all get some food to tide them over.
We got to the supermarket again heavily guarded with guns many people coming I and out, bare essentials we got a shit load of rice, tuna sardines, anything that would keep along with bread colas milk beans lentils that kind of thing, because we don´t know if we can do this again no money coming in from any of us, all relieved when they said our debit card was accepted, once we did our shopping and Marlon the same we all headed out hands full of bags, clearly bought too much to carry, but it had to be done couldn’t leave it there, now this was the worst thing ever, I felt so bad, people looking at us as though to say you bastards you have all of that food and we have nothing, but my father in law simply rushed us on and said don´t stop walking, but we were not the only ones going to that super market people would ask us if it was still open as they walked passed they had the same intentions so the guilt disappeared.
Eventually got to the car loaded up and headed home, but close by we noticed the criminalistica building, which once processed cars like ensuring they were not stolen, was being used as a morgue bodies being spread out all over the premises, huge lump in my throat those poor people, we carried on got back home then sorted out all the shopping Marlon´s and ours.
While blocking out what we had just saw, I think it was a huge weight of us knowing that we had enough food to last us even if it was the basic necessities, because trying to obtain all of this was pretty much impossible, where we live, drinking water is very difficult to get a hold of, again just sheer luck a resident in our complex had some on his truck selling for a profit, but what would you do? No other places you could buy it.
My neighbor Lily had internet on her phone and knew I hadn´t spoken to my family so she set the Wi-Fi up on the laptop, but internet was not consistent so it could go at any time.
Straight away I went to Facebook, where I saw endless amounts of notifications inboxes etc., so thought I had best start with the inboxes my family first, I reassured them we were all safe and secure, yes it was terrible what was going on, but we still have our health and sent them our telephone numbers that are now working,
On my wall my brother in law Esteban from Quito had kindly put me down as being ok from the earthquake on an earthquake bulleting thing, so as I was in the dark as to who knew of all this, clearly my friends and family knew we were fine.
So I wrote a post stating that I appreciated all their loving messages and began explaining some of the situation but not all of it, the fact that the internet was not good meant that I would most likely be cut again, so left it that I would update everyone once we establish a better connection.
Again my inboxes had the same messages of concern lovely to see it does keep you going just a quick distraction can make your day fee that little bit better even if it is only a few minutes.
Since there was a little water in the cistern at my sister in laws we went for a shower probably the first since Friday Saturday? My sister Amanda then called, I was so pleased to hear from her and as soon as she spoke I felt like crying especially when I spoke to my niece Amy, I didn’t want to tell her everything so kept it simple and less gruesome if that is how you would describe it? Trying to explain everything to my sister at 100 mph went on for a while until I slowed down and simply explained the situation what was happening, and really the main problem is what do we do next?
The province is destroyed who the hell would want to come over here now to live?, just as the country had turned the corner as a whole with oil prices increasing this happens so soul destroying for every Ecuadorian who had great expectations, you can´t deny it this country needs help now
We have no money jobs are gone, can´t sell anything because no one has money, yes from my point of view I think we would all love nothing better than to have the option of going back home to England, but then no doubt we have a visa issue for my wife, will the uk even let us in? myself and my son both hold British passports but it is my wife that needs the visa each time we go, and after the last time of doing it twice first time rejected for a short holiday the other year, it’s not so straight forward, so back to reality that kind of dream is no other than a dream at present, stuck here so get on with it, others don’t even have an option of leaving.
Tuesday 19th the president is now here trying to organize the police army and rescue services, there are still bodies being pulled out 60 hours after the disaster a woman briefly on the news was still alive being rescued from a small space 60 cm high by 80 cm width
The people of Guayaquil and Quito are gathering up supplies mainly water rice and tuna to assist people in need here, never have I seen a country so hell bent on producing the goods everyone is working around the clock in this heat, although people have been donating clothes it has been drinking water high on the list, the men that carry the tanks of water for sanitation purposes are charging up to $50 dollars robbing bastards! No one can afford that so we all hope and wait that water will come back soon, or start getting it from the river nearby heard rumors of other countries coming to help but nothing on the news yet.
Wednesday 20th where there is devastation there is also crime, a mixture of businesses being targeted and now residents being potentially robbed people have been chased from my neighborhood many times, people trying to break in to residents homes late at night, but the main concern is there have already been a few cases of people dressing up impersonating the army once they enter the premises they go on a robbing spree, so we are keeping a close eye on the gates
I haven´t bothered myself for grammar spell checking anything like that, so don´t shoot me down for it, this is not a novel simply a cry for help not just by me, but the whole city that I live in,
I can´t help the whole province, but I hope I can help some people close by, who have nothing other than a plastic sheet to live under. Money is key here, everyone Is now realizing that we are on the same level, people who have the flash cars can no longer run them, so they are ditched at the road side. What was once a thriving community on the up, has now declined rapidly, starting life at the very beginning now.
How can I help? The only way to do this and be effective, My only idea is using my pay pal account as a means or gateway for donation, from then I must use western union to transfer over here it is the only means of bringing money into this country, I hope we can then begin helping families in need here, although the government are trying their best there is no way they can help everyone, at the most they can hand out water, but even then the people who are living away from that resource can´t get there to form a line as it is too far , the banks are unreliable I hear one or 2 could be going bankrupt,they are just waiting to make a decision. it is really the only option, I wouldn´t ask anyone if I didn´t feel the need, but as you can see for yourself this act of kindness will really help people here direct rather than deciding who deserves and who doesn´t , I will be eternally grateful for any kind of help you can give, this is not going to be over and back to normal any time soon this is going to be long hard process before any kind of normality is established.
There is no pressure I won´t hold anything against you, in fairness it is not your problem and the whole charity starts at home first I totally understand.
If you could share the hell out of this post in your local groups public profiles social media anything that you may think will help then please do so, maybe what I have wrote will do some good?, I hope I am not the only person trying to reach out to people via a measly blog post, but for now this is all I can do. Ecuador will only recover through help
Thanks for reading please share this
Si Kendrick
Organizer
Ann Blackburn
Organizer
