ECUADOR · NEWS
Key Facts
- The count Guayas, Bolívar and Los Ríos had 10 floods and one sinkhole from Friday evening to Saturday 14 November 2026.
- The search Rescuers were still searching for two people, described as a father and his son, missing in Florida Norte, a district of Guayaquil.
- The warning A rain and thunderstorm warning stays in force through Sunday 15 November 2026.
- Power Index Ecuador ranks 8th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 37.2 points (November 2026 edition).
Heavy rain caused 10 floods and one sinkhole in Ecuador between 17:00 on Friday 13 November and 06:00 on Saturday 14 November 2026. The Secretaría Nacional de Gestión de Riesgos (SNGR), the national risk agency, said on Saturday that three provinces were hit: Guayas, Bolívar and Los Ríos.
El Universo, a Guayaquil daily, reported on Saturday that two people died and two were missing in the city. Ecuadorians abroad with family in the affected provinces will want the latest, and our earlier report on the Guayaquil floods covers the rain of Friday evening.
What We Know
The SNGR counted 11 adverse events between 17:00 on Friday and 06:00 on Saturday, it said on Saturday 14 November. Ten were floods and one was a sinkhole.
By province, Guayas had eight floods, Bolívar had one flood and one sinkhole, and Los Ríos had one flood. El Universo reported on Saturday 14 November that two people died in Guayaquil.
A taxi driver died inside his vehicle on a flooded street in northern Guayaquil, and a heart attack is suspected but not confirmed (El Universo, 14 November 2026). The newspaper said the second victim was reportedly a teenager, swept from a ditch into the Estero Salado channel in Letamendi, another district of Guayaquil, and fire-brigade crews, known as Bomberos, found the body.
Two people reported missing in the Florida Norte sector, described as a father and his son, were still being searched for. The SNGR said, as relayed by El Universo, that streets remained flooded in Las Orquídeas, in north Guayaquil, although the level of the rainwater channel had dropped.
Searches for the missing continued on Saturday morning. Roberto Luque, president of the national emergency committee (COE), said “extremamos esfuerzos” (we are making every effort) to search for and locate the two missing people.
Carolina Lozano, who heads the SNGR, said the agency would send teams to accompany the families.
Why It Matters
Residents of Guayas, Bolívar and Los Ríos are the people directly affected, since the national risk agency counted floods in all three provinces. Ecuadorians with relatives there, including many living abroad, will be following the search and aid updates.
Our report on aid to flooded Milagro gives further background on the response. No damage or aid figure for the three provinces had been confirmed at the time of writing.
What to Watch
Inamhi, the Instituto Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología (Ecuador’s national weather service), has a rain and thunderstorm warning in force through Sunday 15 November 2026. The highest intensity is forecast for Esmeraldas, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Los Ríos, Guayas, Manabí, Santa Elena and El Oro.
We could not confirm a second official date, so the end of the warning on Sunday is the only dated checkpoint. Any later SNGR count would replace the figures above.
What Is Not Known
It is not confirmed whether the two missing people have been found since the El Universo report of Saturday 14 November. Damage, homes affected and shelters in the three provinces are also not confirmed.
The national tally beyond the 06:00 cut-off is not known either. Any later figure from the SNGR would replace the counts above.
More: Ecuador news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Did the Floods Hit in Ecuador?
The national risk agency counted 10 floods and one sinkhole between 17:00 on Friday 13 November and 06:00 on Saturday 14 November 2026. Guayas had eight floods, Bolívar one flood and one sinkhole, and Los Ríos one flood.
Is More Rain Expected?
The Ecuadorian weather service, Inamhi, has a rain and thunderstorm warning in force through Sunday 15 November 2026. Intensity is highest in Esmeraldas, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Los Ríos, Guayas, Manabí, Santa Elena and El Oro.
Are People Still Missing?
El Universo reported on Saturday 14 November that two people, described as a father and his son, were still missing in Florida Norte, a district of Guayaquil. Searches continued, and the government said it was making every effort to find them.
Who Is Leading the Emergency Response?
Roberto Luque, president of the national emergency committee (COE), said “extremamos esfuerzos” (we are making every effort) in the search for the missing. Carolina Lozano, who heads the national risk agency, said it would send teams to accompany the families.
Sources: El Universo, 14 November 2026; Secretaría Nacional de Gestión de Riesgos (SNGR), Ecuador’s national risk agency, statements of 14 November 2026; Inamhi, Ecuador’s national weather service, warning in force until 15 November 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error