Articles

Over 21,000 people have been affected by flooding across 24 provinces since the rainy season kicked off January 1. But there's an upside expats will appreciate: the reservoirs feeding Ecuador's hydroelectric plants are filling fast, making a repeat of 2024's devastating blackouts increasingly unlikely.

ETAPA EP, Cuenca's water utility, is hosting a month of events to celebrate World Water Day. Highlights include the launch of a new water quality monitoring system on March 12, a family gathering at the Botanical Garden on March 22, and a 6K race through the city on May 31.

A 90-day emergency has been declared across five coastal provinces. Over 200,000 people are affected. Cuenca is fine — but if you travel to the coast, fly through Guayaquil, or care about electricity, read this.

The new Hospital Municipal de El Valle opened February 1 with 31 specialties, 24/7 emergency care, and an $8 million investment. It serves 78,000+ residents across six rural parishes — many of them popular with expats.

Ecuador's controversial mining reform bill just cleared committee with 8 votes and heads to the National Assembly floor this week. Meanwhile, Cuenca's Cabildo por el Agua is mobilizing at Parque Calderón to demand lawmakers kill the bill. The stakes? Cuenca's water supply.

Mayor Zamora signed a deal to acquire 105 hectares of critical watershed land bordering Cajas National Park. The $180,000 price tag? Funded entirely by ticket sales from the Carnaval Nicky Jam concert. Sometimes the math really does work out.

Cracked walls, missing basketball hoops, bathrooms that haven't worked in years. Parents from rural parishes across Cuenca protested outside the Gobernación del Azuay, demanding repairs that the municipality says it has the money for — but can't start because the Ministry of Education won't sign off.

The Policía Nacional has established a fixed security operation in Sayausí, the western Cuenca parish that serves as the gateway to Cajas National Park. It comes after the municipality donated over $500,000 to bolster police resources in the area.

Cuenca's 2026 rainy season is anything but ordinary. After years of drought, the skies have opened up with a vengeance — flooding streets, dusting the Cajas with snow, and refilling the reservoirs that kept the lights off in 2024. Here's what expats need to know to stay safe and dry.