Spotlight: One month after killer quake, Ecuador gradually recovers

One month after a strong earthquake that shake Ecuador's northern coast, the government has embarked on a costly and long rebuilding process in the affected areas with international help.

The April 16 earthquake, measuring 7.8 degrees on the Richter scale, killed at least 660 people and affected more than 30,000 others, according to official figures.

Billions of U.S. dollars have also been lost in the tourist areas in the northwestern provinces of Manabi and Esmeraldas on Ecuador's Pacific coast.

"We are progressing well and quickly. Many things have been done in less than a month and we will continue on this path despite the pain felt for the deaths, the injured, the mutilated and the orphans. We will continue building our new homeland. We will continue with our life," Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said Monday.

According to the president, the earthquake destroyed almost 7,000 buildings and affected more than 2,700, in addition to substantial damage to roads and highways.

Ecuador's Risk Management Ministry said that 560 schools were affected, among which 166 suffered medium and serious damage.

According to the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund, at least 120,000 children were affected by the natural disaster.

COSTLY PROCESS

Correa, who estimated that the rebuilding process would cost around 3 billion dollars, has insisted that the process will be long and costly.

"This is not to dishearten us or to alarm us. It is to be realistic, efficient, effective and pragmatic. For that reason, we have adopted emergency (economic) measures to help with the rebuilding process," said Correa at the end of April.

The economic measures include raising Value Added Tax (VAT) from 12 percent to 14 percent for a year as well as getting workers who earn more than 1,000 dollars a month to donate one day's pay. It is hoped that these measures, along with others will help collect around 1.09 billion dollars for reconstruction.

These measures have been rejected by the opposition but have received support from the public.

To gain more liquidity, the government is also prepared to sell government shares in a hydropower station, a bank and two television channels, while it already has a contingency credit line of 630 million dollars from international organizations.

Even though it has been a month since the quake, international aid is still flooding in with a mission from the Union of the South American Nations (Unasur) visiting the affected regions on Tuesday.

The delegation was made up of ambassadors from Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Peru, all working in Ecuador.

LONG-TERM UNDERTAKING

Although the final evaluation of the damage and the real cost of reconstruction will not be known until the beginning of June, a government committee headed by Vice President Jorge Glas has drawn up a plan to speed up the second phase of the disaster relief efforts.

The first stage involved searching for and rescuing people as well as creating shelters for the victims. According to the government, this stage worked well thanks to the solidarity shown at home and abroad.

"We are not waiting to finish one stage before we start the other. We have a fast plan of campaign where all the stages run parallel," Glas said.

In the second phase, according to Glas, the committee is working in three areas: rebuilding infrastructure; designing an urban master plan with soil surveys; and building houses for the victims.

The committee is also working with public and private banks to reactivate production. The government will also use the labor force from the same areas to generate employment.

According to experts, rebuilding in the affected areas will not be a short-term undertaking.

"In Ecuador's case, recovering from such a disaster will take longer than a year," said Omar Bello, coordinator of the disaster unit under the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

This organization, along with other UN experts, are working with Ecuador's National Statistics and Census Institute calculating the damage, losses and impact caused by the earthquake. They are also working on a database including everything needed for rebuilding and developing policies in the long term.

An official study showed that in Manabi, where the epicenter was located, 70 percent of the housing was vulnerable with weak material and failures.

The Ministry for Urban Development and Housing has started to draw up the rebuilding master plan with soil studies and provision for possible tsunamis or high tides with advice from specialists from universities such as Oxford and Harvard, as well as town planners and geologists, among other professionals.

REFLECTION, PREVENTION

The government blames the huge loss of life on badly constructed buildings. This opened up a large debate and caused the State Attorney to begin an investigation, upon the request of President Correa.

"It would be foolish to think that an earthquake of such a magnitude would not leave consequences but, they could have been less severe if the existing building regulations had been respected, but they were not," said the president.

Cecilia Flores, dean of the Civil Engineering Faculty of Ecuador's Central University, told Xinhua that the damage should be a reason to reflect on the harm caused by substandard building work.

To avoid future tragedies, the National Assembly has approved the Territorial Restructuring Law, which will allow the soil to be regulated with responsibility.

The law also seeks to guarantee urban growth with access to basic services and a safe environment in risk-free areas. Endi