Tsunami in the Galapagos - No Damage

by Hidden Trails 03/12/2011

Further to our bulletins from yesterday, we can now confirm that the tsunami which arrived in Galapagos at around 1730hrs (local Galapagos time) did not cause the damage that had been originally anticipated. There was some coastal flooding which affected some of the urban areas in the ports of Puerto Ayora and Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, but no major damage has been reported.
 
Some 5 hours later, the local populations In Galapagos are still waiting for authorisation from the Government to return to their homes, which were evacuated as a precaution. It is possible that this authorisation will only be granted on Saturday, so that the return to the towns can be carried out in daylight.
 
It is expected that Galapagos flights will be resumed on Saturday and this will allow a normal turnaround of our guests. However, due to the backlog created by cancelled flights today, some delays can be expected.
 
The important thing to tell you is that everyone is safe and sound.
 
Meanwhile, our thoughts are with those in Japan who have suffered a terrible tragedy today.

Tsunami expected in Ecuador Galapagos

by Hidden Trails 03/11/2011

We want to express our sincere and profound sympathies for our Japanese friends and the difficult moment they are going through due to the tsunami that hit their country yesterday.
Due to this tragedy and its repercussions it might cause, we want to communicate to all of you that we are aware of the situation and have taken all possible actions for a possible emergency and we are in constant contact with all of our boats and the Ecuadorian Coastguard.
We would like to inform you that this morning the government of Ecuador has declared a state of emergency in the Ecuadorian coast and the Galapagos Islands as a precautionary measure.  This means that all flights to and from the Galapagos Islands have been suspended.  Also, passengers and everyone present on the Islands have been evacuated to the higher altitude areas of every island.
Therefore, please note that that all flights have been suspended for today and all our passengers have already been evacuated to safe areas and will remain there until further notice.  Latest reports say that if the marine conditions become severe, a possible disaster would occur at a lapse of time between 2pm and 8pm.  This means that future operations remain as scheduled for the time being.  Hence, tomorrow all our cruises will be operating as normal.
Know that we are working hard in anything we possibly can to assist our passengers during these extraordinary circumstances.