Death in the Andes

The worst earthquake in Ecuador's modern history* last week destroyed the garden city of Ambato (pop. 30,000) and left surrounding towns like Latacunga (pop. 20,000) mostly rubble. Estimates of the uncounted dead in the Andean valley ran into the thousands; in the town of Pelileo only 300 of 3,500 survived.

In Ambato, a moderate shock several minutes ahead of the cruncher had been warning enough to send people into the streets. Some rushed to church to pray. Then the earth heaved and Ambato's cathedral collapsed, burying in its ruins 70 children and the priest who had been teaching them. Other churches fell in; 70% of the city's houses were made uninhabitable. Bricks and plaster blocked Ambato's streets.

Outside the city, the quake shook down farmhouses and whole hamlets. Landslides wiped out roads, dammed streams and rivers. By nightfall tragic processions of Indians carrying rude coffins had formed on the roads outside Ambato. All along the way, other Indians with lighted candles kept vigil beside the dead for whom coffins had still to be made.

From Quito, President Galo Plaza Lasso flew to Ambato. He set up headquarters in the central square and for two days, without sleep or a change of clothing, directed rescue and relief work. Around him the homeless squatted among their salvaged blankets and cooking pots, and in nearly every group candles flickered before the picture of a saint.

Meanwhile, an airlift was organized to fly supplies from the capital to the disaster zone. A Shell Oil Co. plane crashed near Ambato killing 34 rescuers. From the Canal Zone, U.S. C-47s flew in medical supplies and a Red Cross team. "We have not lost our courage," said Galo Plaza. "Neither Ambato nor Ecuador shall cry any more, but begin to work." Ambato, he said, would be rebuilt as a modern, quakeproof city.

* The only comparable one, in 1797, destroyed five towns in Central Ecuador and killed 5,900.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.