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Ecuador CIVIL DEFENSE
Article 82 of National Security Act Number 275 of 1979
established a civil defense structure composed of the National
Directorate of Civil Defense, provincial boards (juntas),
and various local bodies. A military officer of colonel or higher
rank held the position of civil defense national director. Chaired
by governors, the provincial boards included representatives of the
military, the National Police, the Roman Catholic Church, and
provincial officers of various ministries.
The National Directorate of Civil Defense was subordinate to
the NSC. Essentially a planning organization, the directorate
prepared guidelines and coordinated preparations for possible
disasters and subsequent relief operations to be carried out by
other national, provincial, municipal, and private agencies.
Participants in actual disaster relief operations included the
armed forces; the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute; the
ministries of Public Health, Social Welfare, and Public Works and
Communications; the National Police; local fire departments; the
Red Cross; and Catholic relief agencies. In the event of an
emergency, the National Directorate of Civil Defense normally
assigned a local agency to take the lead in resource mobilization.
The massive floods in 1982 and 1983 and the earthquake of 1987
severely tested the capabilities of the civil defense
organizations. During these crises, compliance with leadership from
the national level tended to be haphazard, with political
considerations often receiving priority in the allocation of
efforts. Relief projects were delayed because the national
directorate lacked the power to resolve questions of jurisdiction
among other agencies. The armed forces repeatedly demonstrated
their effectiveness in responding to emergencies, but in many
instances they did not coordinate their efforts with other civil
defense authorities.
During the 1982-83 flood disaster, the national directorate
formed an emergency operations center in Guayaquil to supervise the
logistics of relief assistance. It subsequently established a flood
commission to coordinate the efforts of nongovernment
organizations, and a high-level committee to assess infrastructure
damage and reconstruction needs. Following the 1987 earthquake, the
government set up the National Emergency Relief Center in Quito to
coordinate the dispensing of assistance from public and private
sources, including foreign governments, international charities,
and personal donations of money, goods, and services. The FAE,
assisted by the air forces of Italy, Argentina, Brazil, and
Venezuela, established an "air bridge" of supplies from Quito to
the Oriente.
Data as of 1989
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