Ecuador and Peru ramp up measures as El Niño threatens schools and rivers

Ecuador’s Minister of Education, Gilda Alcívar, warned that a stronger El Niño is expected in the last quarter of 2026, potentially affecting about 1,200 educational institutions and over one million students, teachers and staff across 491 parishes in 17 provinces. The government has allocated more than US$600 million for emergency actions, focusing on repairing school infrastructure, transport, health services and risk‑management facilities. When necessary, affected schools will shift temporarily to distance learning, with community points set up in rural areas to ensure academic continuity.

In Peru, President Keiko Fujimori is leading the national response, with Agriculture Minister Marco Vinelli announcing accelerated river‑dredging projects at critical flood‑prone sites. The plan, aimed at protecting lives, includes completing identified works by December, mobilising the National Institute of Defence Civil (Indeci) and other agencies for rapid response to landslides or river overflows. Officials acknowledged that prior preventive works were lacking and emphasised the shift to immediate mitigation measures.

Both countries are coordinating inter‑sectoral actions to mitigate the anticipated impacts of the El Niño phenomenon on communities, infrastructure and education.