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00:00During each transhumance, these cries echo across the páramos, the highland plains.
00:17The chagras, the cowboys of Ecuador, are rounding up their cattle, a tradition that is losing
00:22more experts every year.
00:24But few people seem bothered.
00:30Today, they are more concerned about Cotopachi.
00:34It could erupt at any moment.
00:36Its eternal snows are the symbol of this Latin American country.
00:41But they could be turned into gigantic mudslides which would bury the villages below, a scenario
00:47that could be repeated here and in the region of Tungurrawa.
00:51There are still 60 houses that are completely recovered from the depots and have completely
00:57disappeared from the eruption.
00:59Quito has had its fair share of natural scourges.
01:04Surrounded by volcanoes, many of them active, the capital also lies on a major seismic fault
01:09line.
01:10The earth could also quake at any instant.
01:26On the Pacific Ocean, Guayaquil is the most populous city in Ecuador.
01:30Its almost four million inhabitants live in constant fear of an earthquake or deadly flooding.
01:43Ecuador is permanently on edge.
01:45The first stage of our journey, Quito, the capital.
02:10It's four in the morning.
02:16Benjamin Bernard, a French volcanologist, is setting off to climb Pichincha volcano.
02:22More specifically, one of its peaks, Guagua, which means child in the Quecha language.
02:28Pichincha last erupted in 2001.
02:31The cloud rose to over 12 kilometers in the sky.
02:34Its summits and crater are a three-hour trek away.
02:39It's the fourth time Benjamin has climbed the volcano.
02:55He's accompanied by one of his Ecuadorian colleagues.
02:59The higher we climb, the more reduced visibility becomes.
03:05Each step needs to be calculated.
03:07It's not much fun, this constant fear of slipping.
03:20At the summit, nowhere is totally safe.
03:27This is a monitoring post.
03:29It records every jolt around the crater.
03:32State-of-the-art equipment that listens to the volcano's heartbeat 24-7.
03:38The crater is two kilometers across.
03:44Benjamin Bernard and his colleagues are here because Pichincha is one of Ecuador's most active volcanoes.
03:50So it is under very close watch.
03:52So we are on the Wawa Pichincha, which was in eruption between 1999 and 2001.
04:00So here we take the exterior temperature and the humidity of the air.
04:07Because if we take the thermal images, we need to correct the humidity and temperature.
04:12We are at about 100% of humidity.
04:15So we are in a sea, and the temperature is lower than 4 degrees.
04:22And here, this volcano is a dangerous volcano.
04:25It's a active volcano and very explosive volcano.
04:28So, yes, potentially very dangerous.
04:31I'm afraid that it doesn't get to be discovered.
04:34And if it doesn't get to be discovered, we can't take an image thermic image.
04:38We can't take any photos of the dome.
04:45Benjamin won't take the slightest risk.
04:49A few years back, two of his colleagues disappeared here.
04:53Their bodies have never been found.
04:55Good morning, Mr. Rodrigo.
05:00Good morning, Christian.
05:02Hello, Mateo.
05:03How are you?
05:04How are you doing here?
05:06It's quiet.
05:07It's cloudy right now, and the other days it's dry.
05:11Did you feel a little bit of a震g in these days?
05:15No.
05:16No.
05:17These days, no.
05:18Everything is quiet.
05:20Rodrigo Veracuccia is the caretaker of the high-altitude refuge.
05:25He works there two weeks a month.
05:27At the slightest suspect activity, it's his job to sound the alarm.
05:32The volcano has an eruption cycle of about 1,000 years, so today it's high risk.
05:37When there was the volcano, I was in turn.
05:44It was about 5 to 7 in the morning, and it was about 20 kilometers of altitude.
05:52What did you do when the explosion happened?
05:53What did you do when the explosion happened?
05:54I came to see how it was inside.
05:55You approached it?
05:56Yes.
05:57You saw the column?
05:58Yes.
05:59You saw the column?
06:00Yes.
06:01You saw the column?
06:02Yes.
06:03There was a column that went down.
06:04It was just a tree and the material fell here.
06:07to be five feet off.
06:08Higher up, plaques commemorate the sacrifices made to the volcano by Rodrigo Veracuccia's
06:09family.
06:10That plaque is from my grandfather who died at the other yard.
06:28They came to祖父's geophysical system.
06:31This plaque is also a member of the family of Don Rodrigo, who came to the rescue of Diego Veracuccia, but he also fell and died in the Huahuapichinche.
06:44Are you afraid sometimes to fall and fall into the crater?
06:49Sometimes, of course, but not from there. We've already passed everything.
06:54Despite the danger, Rodrigo Veracuccia continues his mission as if it were a calling.
07:05His two sons work at the Geophysics Institute. His grandson wants to follow in his footsteps.
07:14At any moment, Pichinche could wake up.
07:18On the road taking us to Quito, there are indelible traces left by the most violent eruptions.
07:23Thousands of years of history frozen in lava, earth and dust.
07:32Here we have the past eruptions eruptions from Pichinche.
07:37Here is an eruption that dates from the 1st century.
07:40Then a soil.
07:42A big eruption that dates from the 10th century.
07:47Another soil.
07:49A small eruption that dates from 1660.
07:54This is the first eruption with historical archives of Pichinche.
08:02Quito is just a dozen kilometers away.
08:06A nearness that makes the capital and its two million inhabitants very vulnerable.
08:12Benjamin Bernard takes us up a hill overlooking Quito.
08:21We are on Rumi Pamba.
08:27It's from here, in his view, the danger could come.
08:30Here, we have an excellent point of view on one of the main dangers that could affect the city of Quito.
08:42We have a great valley that descends from Pichinche.
08:45And on this valley has been built.
08:48The metropolitan hospital hospital.
08:51The water management center.
08:53The main road to the west avenue.
08:57The problem is that in the case of a big eruption of Pichinche,
09:01there is a possibility that the water flow will descend through this valley.
09:06So they will be affected.
09:08So what can happen here is dramatic?
09:10At the level of the affected area, it will paralyze the city.
09:14But why, with such conditions, do the authorities give permission to develop these districts?
09:20It's more political questions than rational questions.
09:25It's to say, it's a land that is worth something.
09:29Rather than prohibiting the construction,
09:31to allow the construction is to have taxes,
09:34to allow the development of the city.
09:37On the other hand, it's a bad development in terms of the dangers.
09:45Benjamin Bernard and his volcanologist colleagues
09:47have carried out various simulations for an eruption of Pichinche.
09:54Every scenario concludes with a disaster for the population of Quito.
09:59We are on the main road of Quito.
10:02And right here comes the valley that comes from Pichinche.
10:08We are always on the coast of the valley.
10:11And we find one of the biggest hospitals in Quito.
10:13The metropolitan hospital.
10:15Police headquarters, apartment blocks, and shopping centers are under threat.
10:22The main street is particularly well populated.
10:30Here, in the Geophysics Institute,
10:33a dozen experts are keeping close watch on Pichinche.
10:36But sadly, this volcano isn't the only one that's very active.
10:40This room is the nevragis center of the Geophysics Institute.
10:47We can see, on the screen,
10:49cameras installed on Tungurawa and Reventador.
10:52We also have all the seismic information,
10:55because we watch the seismic activity of the volcanoes.
10:58To understand the situation of the equator,
11:00we can look at the volcano.
11:02We are on the volcano,
11:03which is the volcano.
11:04The volcano volcano is a very dense volcano.
11:09It is the volcano, the equator of Quito,
11:11with 2 million inhabitants.
11:13It is surrounded by volcanoes.
11:14Some are inactive.
11:15Some are inactive.
11:16The blue ones.
11:17But some are active, like the Wawa Pichincha.
11:19Or potentially active, like the Attacasso and the Pululawawa.
11:21and the Pululawa.
11:22Quito can also be affected by volcanoes that are far away,
11:25such as the Reventador, which is at 80 km,
11:28but the center of the Reventador,
11:30led by the wind, can affect Quito.
11:32There are other volcanoes that can affect the equator,
11:35which are active today?
11:36There are other volcanoes that are active.
11:38In eruption, we have the Tungurawa,
11:40in the south,
11:41and the Shanghai,
11:42which is a volcano all the time in activity,
11:44but it is not very dangerous
11:45because there is no population around.
11:47The Tungurawa has an important city
11:49of almost 20,000 inhabitants,
11:51right in the north,
11:52which is called Banyos.
11:55And let's not forget Cotopachi.
11:57In all, Ecuador has 25 volcanoes
11:59considered active or very active.
12:04We head to Banyos,
12:05135 km south of Quito.
12:08Here it's Tungurawa,
12:10which dominates the town
12:12and which is of concern to the authorities.
12:14and the land.
12:15An exceptional plan of action
12:16has been deployed in the region.
12:17No fewer than 20 volunteers
12:19keep close watch on the volcano
12:21whose name, Tungurawa,
12:23leaves nothing to the imagination,
12:24gorge of fire.
12:33It is noon.
12:34A very special delivery.
12:35In the bag,
12:36Don Carlito's lunch.
12:37He's one of the main men
12:39in the surveillance setup
12:40deployed by the Geophysics Institute.
12:42For the past few months,
12:44he has refused to leave his post
12:46while Tungurawa threatens.
12:48His watch tower
12:49is at over 2,600 meters altitude.
12:52Good afternoon, Don Carlitos.
12:55How are you, engineer?
12:56How are you?
12:57How are you, engineer?
12:58Very good.
12:59Welcome.
13:00I'm with a lot of heat.
13:01It's the climb.
13:03Yes.
13:04What are you again, engineer?
13:05How are you doing?
13:06How are you doing?
13:07How are you doing?
13:08How are you doing?
13:09How are you doing?
13:10Well, the volcano
13:11has passed a few days
13:13and a few moments
13:15are a little more agitated.
13:17From a little,
13:18it's going to decline
13:19and calm down a little.
13:21to better observe
13:25the least sign of suspect activity
13:27from Tungurawa,
13:28Don Carlito built this treehouse,
13:30a two-story watchtower,
13:32amazing in more than one way.
13:34What a beautiful view is.
13:35When it's completely
13:41out of the valley,
13:44it's built
13:45to do the volcano
13:46to do the volcano
13:47to do the volcano.
13:48It's a great view.
13:49It's a great view.
13:50It's a great view.
13:51It's a great view.
13:52It's a great view.
13:53It's a great view.
13:54for people to see
13:57destruction.
13:58We also need to,
13:59look at this.
14:01There is nothing right here.
14:02In this moment,
14:04we're seeing
14:05an emission,
14:06a pure vacuum source,
14:07an air vacuum source.
14:08It doesn't have strong strength,
14:11but if the volcano
14:13flies to go,
14:14there could also be
14:15a gris pulse,
14:17it would have to be
14:18wind and snow.
14:19A former soldier and a volunteer fireman, Don Carlito is now retired.
14:25At 71 and 5 months, as he proudly tells us, he knows that Tungurawa is a threat to the
14:30population.
14:32To anyone who questions his dedication, he reminds them of that terrible summer's day
14:35in 2006.
14:49But the critical moment was when the small pieces began to fall, small pieces or volcanic bombs.
15:04And my person had to come here to me with a small film, filming the fire that emanated.
15:18But when I heard the objects that kept falling in this part, I stopped filming and I came
15:26here and I was like this.
15:27And after another 2 minutes, more or less, another pulse came, and the trees were again
15:51in the trees.
15:52And I returned to me again from here.
15:54So this part received the shots.
15:58And this part received the shots.
16:05Since 2006, Don Carlito has organized his life around his tree shelter, treehouse, and cows.
16:25A relatively peaceful life, but he always has his walkie-talkie on him just in case.
16:32When the volcano is calm here, it's pretty cool, isn't it?
16:39Well, yes.
16:40But when you start to see the snow in large quantities here, the animals will release it.
16:52That's why we put everything in the heat.
16:55And the animals have a sixth sense, maybe better than us.
17:029 AM, the next day.
17:04From high above the town, all seems calm.
17:14Red alert.
17:15Tungurua has awoken during the night.
17:18The 15,000 inhabitants must evacuate Banos as fast as possible.
17:24The police, the military, the emergency services, everyone is in action.
17:28We're going to have to wait, ladies.
17:30We are going to go forward, them.
17:31We will see you quickly, they will be going forward.
17:33We'll move forward.
17:34Let's go for the street.
17:35Go, please.
17:37Go, go!
17:43Go, go!
17:44Go!
17:45Go!
17:46Go-go time to save the lives!
17:47Go!
17:50Go!
17:51Going, go!
17:53Go, let's go, let's go!
17:55This is the third drill held in the past two years.
18:25The authorities oblige every town hall to prepare their inhabitants for a possible
18:32eruption. Ten towns are at risk in the region. Here the police patrol the empty streets
18:42in order to stop looting which broke out during recent eruptions. Looting which, perhaps,
18:47explains why the population is reluctant to take part in the drill.
18:55Don Carlito would like these simulations to take place more often.
19:02He knows that Tungurua might unleash its anger at any moment. His records show that over
19:09the past few years, eruptions have become more and more frequent.
19:46Volcanologist Benjamin Bernard shares Don Carlito's concern. He takes us to some places where
19:53lahars, or volcanic mudflows, caused the worst damage after the 2006 eruption. There used
20:00to be a village here. Now, all that's left is this lunar landscape.
20:07So, in August 2006, the eruption of Tungurua has caused the droughts that came up here and
20:13have laid out the area. We don't realize it, but there are still 60 houses that are completely
20:19covered by the depots and that have completely disappeared from the eruption.
20:24A whole village? A small village that has disappeared.
20:28And now, these people try to sell the terrain.
20:31But who do they sell the terrain?
20:32They sell it to the government, right?
20:34I hope they will make it a protected area. There is a geopark project for all the Tungurua,
20:41for all the areas that have been affected by the eruption.
20:44We try not to come back and live in a bad place.
20:51Today, a family has returned to the land where they lived before the disaster.
21:21And it was something impressive. And when the storm came down, the light went on,
21:28the light went on to this area. And we crossed the bridge of the Juntas.
21:34And we went on to cross the river and the lava came to the river.
21:39I crossed the bridge of the Juntas and then the big rocks came out.
21:44And there were some big rocks in the car.
21:48And it was desperate because it wasn't just me.
21:51We were like 20 who were in the vehicles.
21:57To encourage families not to resettle on the slopes of the volcano,
22:00the authorities are buying their scorched land.
22:03Today, other volcanoes threaten the population of the region.
22:13One of them is Cotopachi, the best known volcano in the Americas.
22:19Cotopachi is so imposing that some locals call it neck of the moon.
22:24Others, king of death.
22:26We are in the heart of the Cotopachi National Park.
22:38An exceptional landscape fashioned by the volcano's numerous angry outbursts.
22:57Daniel Andrade is a colleague of Benjamin Bernard.
23:01For years, he has walked the slopes of the volcano
23:03that is now one of Ecuador's greatest threats.
23:08We'll follow him along one of the probable paths
23:10that a lahar might take after an eruption.
23:17This is one of the various drains that descend from Cotopachi.
23:21The volcano is between the clouds.
23:23And in the moment of an eruption,
23:25the lahars should go down by these drains.
23:33You just need to follow these old traces,
23:35these scars which remind us that Cotopachi has already struck
23:38and will strike again.
23:39But how?
23:43Here's what might happen.
23:49This drama unfolded in 1985,
23:51not in Ecuador, but in neighboring Colombia.
23:53The Navarro del Riz has many things in common with Cotopachi.
23:58During the eruption, hot volcanic debris mixed with the fast thawing snows,
24:03forming massive, devastating mud flows.
24:08In a few hours, the town of Armero was wiped off the map.
24:1123,000 people died,
24:16the second biggest volcanic disaster in the 20th century.
24:20In the 20th century.
24:31We are in a area close to the volcano.
24:35We can still see lava deposits that come from Cotopachi,
24:38from the bottom and close to the valley.
24:42They are quite old, but they correspond to erupcions
24:45over 500,000 years ago.
24:51Since the dawn of time,
24:52Cotopachi has erupted on average every 100 years.
24:55But the last eruption was 135 years ago.
24:59Far from reassuring Daniel Andrade,
25:01this inactivity worries him,
25:03especially as the eternal snows of Cotopachi provide Quito
25:06with most of its drinking water.
25:08This water slowly makes its way to a dam built by the state some 30 years ago.
25:34Quito is 80 kilometers south of here.
25:40In this place,
25:42there are these rocks that serve
25:44to divide the water of Pita in two parts.
25:46One that goes to Quito,
25:47which is on the left side.
25:48And the rest of the river,
25:49which is going to its natural course,
25:50is on the right side.
25:51In case of Cotopachi's volcano,
25:52if the volcano has erupted,
25:53which is what is on the left side,
25:54and the rest of the river,
25:56which will follow its natural course,
25:58is on the right side.
26:00In case of Cotopachi's volcano,
26:02if the volcano has erupted,
26:03that will form Lajares,
26:04the Lajares will reach this place
26:06and will destroy these works.
26:08Therefore,
26:09at least one part of the water
26:12of Quito's city will be lost.
26:14Daniel Andrade believes that Ecuadorians
26:17have become a nation of amnesiacs,
26:20easily forgetting past tragedies.
26:23And yet,
26:24there are plenty of reminders around.
26:26The town of La Tacunga is one of them.
26:28The town of La Tacunga is one of them.
26:58The town of La Tacunga is one of them.
26:59And we can see,
27:00right here,
27:01on the right side of these ruins,
27:03how the city has been developed.
27:11This is one of the most important areas
27:13of transport from the South and the East.
27:15There is also a commercial center
27:18and all the things that are in the side of the ruins
27:21of the last eruption of the Cotopachi.
27:25The shopping mall and the hospital were both built in the most vulnerable areas.
27:32But they're not the only buildings at risk in La Tacunga.
27:55These risks are very real. While Kotopachi sleeps for the moment, Tungurawa is wide awake.
28:13In December 2012, the volcano erupted again.
28:20At the Geophysics Institute Observatory, the experts feared the worst.
28:27This is the station that is closest to the crater.
28:32It is the one that shows the sismes of the volcano.
28:39Yesterday, there were some sismes related to the volcano,
28:43but nothing compared to what was recorded in two weeks with the strong activity.
28:55Look at that!
28:57Look at that! It's amazing!
28:59The cameras placed all around the volcano recorded the final explosions.
29:02This is from December 2012.
29:05You can also see the constant emission of snow.
29:08You can also see the constant emission of snow.
29:10You can also see that it covered a large amount of snow with a lot of snow.
29:15And that's right, the red alert?
29:17No, it never came to the red alert. It only came to the orange alert.
29:21You can see the floodlight on the volcano.
29:23The cameras placed all around the volcano recorded the final explosions.
29:28And once again, it was Don Carlito who spotted the first suspect signs.
29:42Don Carlito might keep watch over the volcano 24-7, but he believes that Tungurahua isn't the only danger his region faces.
30:06Nature can run riot at any moment, here or elsewhere.
30:36Ecuador sits on a powder keg.
30:44Back to Quito, the capital is vulnerable everywhere.
30:48Seen from above, this becomes even more obvious.
30:51Entire districts are built on hillsides, in areas that are at a high risk from earthquakes.
30:58Over half of the buildings have been built with no official planning permission on unstable land which could collapse at any moment.
31:10Alexandra Alvarado is a seismologist.
31:13For years she has studied all the possible outcomes of an earthquake in or around Quito.
31:19Considering the capital's geographical situation, disaster seems inevitable.
31:25The city is located on a system of failures.
31:28These lakes that we see here represent the morphology of the failure that is in depth,
31:35which we don't see on the surface, and the city is located in this area.
31:40This is a failure and we can probably have a greater magnitude of the sism in this area
31:47because of this failure.
31:49Yes, it is important for a population with more than 2 billion inhabitants.
31:54The experts know what can happen.
31:57They have the example of the terrible earthquake that struck nearby Chile on February 27th, 2010.
32:03The country was hit by a massive quake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale.
32:08In the city of Concepcion, 525 people died or were declared missing.
32:14Serious damage was also inflicted on the capital, Santiago.
32:19Alexandre Alvarado believes Ecuador will suffer the same fate.
32:29Where and when, no one can predict.
32:32But since the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, 23 earthquakes have already been recorded with, in 1868,
32:38one measuring 8 on the Richter scale.
32:44Back then, Quito had only 45,000 inhabitants.
32:47The people that have built their houses there make it very dangerous.
33:02The people that have built their houses there make it very dangerous.
33:05The people that have built their houses there make it very dangerous.
33:07Yes, indeed.
33:08All the houses are built on the structure, the wall that is raised,
33:13with respect to the valley that you see behind these walls.
33:17Over the past 30 years, Quito has grown in total anarchy, with almost no town planning.
33:2450 to 60% of buildings are thought to have been constructed illegally.
33:29The authorities have made no efforts to halt this expansion.
33:32Even worse, public buildings have been constructed with no anti-earthquake engineering.
33:38What would happen in the event of a big quake?
33:43There's only one way in or out of Quito.
33:48And that is via Simon Bolivar Avenue, the city's beltway.
33:53Yes, indeed.
33:54Because the street is also on the street.
33:57And all these walls that we see on the side of the street
34:02can generate slidings that can tap on the road.
34:09Is there a way to prevent a stormwater?
34:11No.
34:12Unfortunately, no.
34:13Because we can't predict that kind of phenomena.
34:16The only thing we can do is take measures
34:19to prevent it being more catastrophic.
34:21First of all, working with people,
34:23so that people take awareness, participate,
34:26create awareness that they're in a dangerous area.
34:30And therefore, there are other processes,
34:32such as the strengthening of structures,
34:35that are more firm, more resistant,
34:37start to build better,
34:39prepare for the case of a storm,
34:42in the school, in the work, etc.
34:48Here, too, the population has forgotten.
34:50In 1917, the earth shook.
34:53The colonial old town, a World Heritage Site,
34:56suffered serious damage.
34:58Seventy years later, another quake struck.
35:01Each time, the municipality simply patched
35:03the Spanish period buildings up.
35:05On the outside, there are no seismic traces,
35:08but the authorities know another earthquake
35:10is waiting to happen.
35:11You don't think that the best idea is to avoid
35:26the construction of houses, buildings,
35:29in very dangerous places?
35:32Yes, you are right in that.
35:35But the problem is that that is not true.
35:38We do not know that in this moment.
35:41The city of Quito has been built for 100 years.
35:44All of these elements were not known.
35:47100 years ago, anti-earthquake engineering did not exist.
35:54But why are no standards imposed on new constructions now?
35:58Why doesn't the municipal government ban unauthorized construction,
36:01which makes the city even more vulnerable?
36:07The authorities appear to be out of their depth.
36:09Their only repose today is to make inhabitants aware
36:12of the many risks they're running.
36:15While the hillsides are occupied by the wealthier families,
36:18the city outskirts are home to the poorer populations.
36:21Shanty towns have sprouted like mushrooms.
36:25The government does little to help.
36:28So charities and associations have come to the aid of these families.
36:35This is the Tepeyac district.
36:37Good morning, guys.
36:38Good morning.
36:39Good morning.
36:40Good morning.
36:41How are you?
36:42Good morning.
36:43Good morning.
36:44Good morning.
36:45You know that in the school we are doing a project, right?
36:48Yes.
36:49That is on the issue of risks.
36:50And that has helped us to see the improvements here in the school.
36:54What is the most interesting thing about the changes?
36:57The wall.
36:58The wall.
36:59The wall.
37:00The wall.
37:01The wall.
37:02The wall.
37:03The wall.
37:04The wall was built following a mud flow which almost swept away the school.
37:15An event which could have claimed numerous victims.
37:18All the children were in class.
37:24Fortunately, tragedy was only just avoided.
37:26But the school at the foot of the volcano Atacadzo is still under threat from other dangers.
37:31Terremoto.
37:32Terremoto.
37:33Sente, sente, sente.
37:34Sente, sente.
37:35There, there.
37:36Terremoto.
37:37There.
37:38There.
37:39There.
37:40Tatiana Moreno has been working for years in this shantytown.
37:43She knows exactly what dangers face the children and their families.
37:46When she says, earthquakes, we change.
37:49And they understand that when something happens, they have to rebuild their lives.
37:54And continue.
37:55And make, maybe it is making a, give a tools for, upfront the situation, for example.
38:01But in a normal way.
38:03Not with panic or screaming.
38:05Alakatonga.
38:06Alakatonga.
38:07Alakatonga.
38:08Alakatonga.
38:09Alakatonga.
38:10Alakatonga.
38:11Alakatonga.
38:12Alakatonga.
38:13Alakatonga.
38:14Alakatonga.
38:15With each disaster, the inhabitants go into action.
38:16Like here, where parents have joined forces to rebuild the school.
38:20Alakatonga.
38:21When the flood came down, the plan started.
38:25We were starting to make the wall you tried making.
38:28So the government, the minister of education, did also giving more money, but it wasn't
38:31enough for the necessity.
38:32So also the neighbors came, the fathers, and they made this structure, to hope that their
38:39children were in a better place, more safe.
38:44So right now they are working in this area for their own children.
38:49In Spanish it says Minga. Minga means put your hand with my hands to build something better.
38:56This is Minga.
38:59While the inhabitants prove their solidarity, the school principal places his trust in Pachamama, the earth goddess,
39:05to ward off the ill fortune that has beset the neighborhood.
39:19When the mother of the nature is broken, it causes the eruptions.
39:23But the Pachamama is not enough to protect the children?
39:26Well, when it's in peace, when everything is calm, we're going well. There's duality.
39:31And when that happens, we're prepared.
39:37Tatiana Moreno doesn't agree.
39:40In the event of a disaster, she knows the people will be left to fend for themselves.
39:44No censuses have been carried out in these neighborhoods, or squats, as the authorities call them.
39:51And yet they exist in all of Ecuador's large towns and cities.
40:00We head to Guayaquil, Ecuador's financial capital.
40:03Early explorers called it the Pearl of the Pacific.
40:13But once you leave its historical center, it's a shade of its former self.
40:20Today, almost one million and a half people live in shanties and lean-tos.
40:26They're known as invasiones, invaders, a name that shows the authorities' contempt for these people.
40:36Most of them are former peasants who migrated to the overpopulated cities in search of a better life.
40:41Nearly every road reaches a dead end.
41:00Guayaquil also sits on a seismic fault.
41:03There are earthquakes, but also torrential rains.
41:11During the rainy season, this neighborhood is constantly flooded.
41:14Families often need to move house.
41:16The winter, it's up to here.
41:22It's going to peak.
41:24Everything is going to peak.
41:25It's just a piece under there to relax.
41:27How does it move in the winter?
41:30It's coming together with two or three people.
41:32They come from that wall to that wall.
41:39They come to us and come to us and then take us from here.
41:41They come to us and get us from here.
41:43They've taken us from here.
41:44After each big flood, they need to plug the gaps, plaster over the cracks, and sometimes
42:09rebuild.
42:13The means are derisory, makeshift beams and corrugated iron picked up here and there.
42:20On the list of cities with the largest number of homes unfit for living, Guayaquil is third.
42:27It seems that here too, it's of little or no concern to the government.
42:43The government is going to go to the government and they never worried about filling here.
42:46They always voted, for example, Ladraga, voted from that side.
42:50The current president, Rafael Correa, said that he would not fill the money here.
42:56Because this is an invasion.
42:58When he bought it legally, this is not an invasion.
43:00This is not an invasion.
43:01This is not an invasion.
43:02This is commerce.
43:03This is for convenience.
43:04Look, Ladraga, once a project was filled here, they took it.
43:08These inhabitants are often the victims of unscrupulous real estate agents who, with the help of local
43:25politicians, sell them land unsuitable for construction.
43:28The state turns a blind eye and the situation is worsening day by day.
43:33Every month, up to 4,000 migrants arrive in these lawless, high-risk areas.
43:40Just a few charitable organizations are on hand to help.
43:43The biggest is Hogar de Cristo, a Catholic NGO.
43:47It gives the neediest families the chance to buy land and homes at a reduced cost.
43:52It receives donations amounting to about $1 million a year from foreign backers.
44:02This is one of the NGO's workyards.
44:05John-Marc Pité is an architect.
44:08This 30-year-old French volunteer supervises a team of 20 workers.
44:22This is one of the things that we have to do with, with the caña piccada, the caña piccada
44:26is open, which is a bamboo, which is open and serves as a cloisonnement.
44:30These houses are built entirely in a day-to-day house, which are built in a day-to-day house.
44:36We have also developed a new prototype of houses, which is an agglomerate.
44:44This is an agglomerate that is treated with a special coat to resist the humidity.
44:49It's important because we are attached to heavy rains and the heat permanently.
45:00Once the parts have been made, the kit house is delivered directly to its new owner.
45:07These trucks go to the various shanty towns of Guayaquil, neighborhoods with strangely poetic names.
45:15Today for example, we're visiting Floral Paradise.
45:18There are almost 200,000 people who live in the sector.
45:22This is a sector where there is no electricity coming, but there is no electricity.
45:27There is no electricity.
45:28There are few routes, as we can see.
45:31All routes are on the ground.
45:33And there are a lot of basic services.
45:36It's dangerous because we are in areas where there are inondations,
45:42where there can beå´©ions of terrain.
45:45Some sectors, some areas are built so they shouldn't be.
45:50And there is also an urban violence that is the daily area of the area.
45:59these two rural communities who are living in the area of the area of the area.
46:04John-Marc Pitae is accompanied by four workers.
46:06It's just before noon.
46:09Hello.
46:10Hello.
46:11Hello.
46:12Hello.
46:13Good afternoon.
46:14Good afternoon.
46:15Good afternoon.
46:16We are here for your house.
46:18Yes.
46:19I found your house.
46:20We want to see how we are going to position the house on the table with the weapons.
46:24Here they are.
46:26Like always, the team inspects the place where the house must be built.
46:31The plots are often very cramped.
46:34Here we go.
46:35Here we go.
46:36Here we go.
46:37Here we go.
46:38Here we go.
46:39Here we go.
46:40Here we go.
46:41Here we go.
46:42Here we go.
46:43Here we go.
46:45It's noon.
46:46The team gets working.
46:48Santa Toala has been staying with her sister while waiting to become the proud owner of this
46:53home.
46:54At 32, she is divorced and the mother of four children.
46:57The house is basic.
47:05Four walls made out of bamboo, a wooden floor, and a roof in sheet zinc or corrugated iron.
47:14It's made to last a maximum of four to five years.
47:18Here we go.
47:19Here we go.
47:20Here we go.
47:21Here we go.
47:22Now we're going to put the floor in the house.
47:25We are going to put it on the floor.
47:27This is the upper floor.
47:28We'll leave a window open to continue to put the walls.
47:31But we'll be able to put the two sides of the roof.
47:34Now we're going to put the floor in the house.
47:37Here we go.
47:38Here we go.
47:39Put it on the floor.
47:41There's four rooms.
47:45One, two, and here is a big one that can also be divided.
47:52Here I have a handle.
47:53Here it is?
47:54Yes.
47:55Perfect.
47:57I'm happy because I'm better.
48:00The house I had already fell.
48:02If I didn't do it in the winter, I fell.
48:05Where would I be with all these things?
48:07I couldn't be there in this house where I fell.
48:10That's why I decided to have this house better.
48:13Better and cheaper.
48:18To own it, Santa Toala must pay back a $400 loan at $7 a month over five years.
48:28This model has other advantages.
48:30It's hard to imagine that this house will resist the fall of the land.
48:36The fall of the land.
48:38There's no problem with the fall of the land.
48:41If there's a new land.
48:43If there's a new land that comes to the house, it can also be taken.
48:46But there's no problem with the land.
48:48The houses at the Gare des Christos pass the whole sea that we have regularly in the region.
48:55The Catholic NGO has already delivered over 120,000 houses of this kind.
49:00The idea would be to have a house that will be evolved.
49:05And allow us to go to a definitive house.
49:08A definitive solution for housing.
49:10And not only an emergency solution.
49:13That's a bit of a perspective of the future.
49:16And here's the house.
49:17Well, thanks.
49:18It's so beautiful.
49:19I thank you very much.
49:20It's so beautiful.
49:21You're welcome.
49:22It's so beautiful.
49:23You're so beautiful.
49:24You're welcome.
49:25Well, thank you. It's beautiful.
49:29I thank you very much.
49:32It's very beautiful.
49:34I'm not going to get wet because I was getting wet.
49:37In the other house I had, I was getting wet.
49:40Did you make some euros, Jean Marquette?
49:42Well, it's part of the work of Ogar de Cristo
49:45and helping people who have a little bit of a roof.
49:51Santa Toala also has an option to add improvements
49:54to a 25 square meter house.
49:56And if she finds a job,
49:58she can buy an even more comfortable home.
50:00Like this new model that the NGO has put on show.
50:04So it's a house that is elevated,
50:06so it's elevated to the soil
50:08to be able to adapt to the declivity of the terrain,
50:11to resist inondations or heavy rains.
50:14Is this an anti-sismic house?
50:16It's an anti-sismic house because
50:18all the unions between the bamboo
50:21are soft unions, which deforms
50:23when the house receives a seismic wave.
50:27This means that the house will deform
50:29but it won't be fissured.
50:31It will absorb the movements due to the sea.
50:35It could be a home.
50:38Everybody can pay a house like that.
50:41So we use the government bonus bonus,
50:44which is 5,000 dollars,
50:45to allow people with no means
50:48to access this type of house,
50:49which is a definitive house.
50:55Hello! How are you?
51:00In this neighborhood, only a dozen families live in such a house,
51:04as it's still in the prototype stage.
51:29I tell you, I don't know what to do.
51:33You can live with my dad.
51:36How did you live with my dad?
51:38How did you live with my dad?
51:40How did you live with her?
51:42Home after home, the Hogar de Cristo charity brings a human touch to these forgotten,
51:45or almost forgotten, places.
51:48Jean-Marc Pite knows that when the next disaster strikes,
51:51the press will make it headline news for a few days before relegating it to the inside pages.
51:56If Ecuador wants to develop, it must imperatively integrate the risk factor,
52:03put in place a prevention plan, and urgently change its town planning policy.
52:08Otherwise, as every expert we met on this trip believes,
52:12natural disasters will soon show just how fragile the country is,
52:16and why a large-scale tragedy is inevitable.
52:26We have to move the city to find a new destination throughout the city.
52:37The top four meters and the other meters and the other meters are indeed out of it.
52:39The South Park is the only place where the public's streets are moving,
52:41and the other primary, and the other places we get to the house,
52:42the other places we get to the house.
52:43We're going to go to the archive by the historic wheels.
52:44We're going to vote on its seats, and we're going to lose a little bit.
52:45We're going to vote on the street now.
52:46All right?
52:47We can't believe that.
52:48We've got yesterday.
52:49We can't believe that there is one year.
52:50Do more!
52:51We can't believe it.
52:52We can give a couple of people.
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