Photo: Associated Press // YouTube
Massive waves have battered the coasts of Ecuador and Peru this week. As CBS News reports, waves reaching up to 13 feet high have led to closures of large sections of coastline and at least one death.
“These waves are being generated thousands of kilometers away from Peru, off the coast of the United States,” navy Captain Enrique Varea told Channel N television. He later elaborated that “They are waves generated by a persistent wind on the surface of the ocean that is approaching our coasts.”
In response, many beaches along the central and northern coasts of Peru were closed to prevent risk to human life, according to authorities. As the National Emergency Operations Center wrote on social media, the country closed 91 of its 121 ports until January 1.
Meanwhile, a body was recovered in the coastal city of Manta, Ecuador, according to the National Secretariat for Risk Management. “The Manta Fire Department reported that, at 6:00 a.m., the body of a missing person was found lifeless in the Barbasquillo sector,” the agency announced on social media.
