Giant waves kill at least 1 in Ecuador, close ports in Peru

One person died in Ecuador and ports closed across Peru as massive waves up to 13 feet high pummeled the region, officials said Saturday.

Many beaches along the central and northern stretches of the Peruvian coastline were closed to prevent risk to human life, local authorities said.

Waves there submerged jetties and public squares, sending residents fleeing to higher ground, according to images on local media.

In neighboring Ecuador, the National Secretariat for Risk Management said a body was recovered in the coastal city of Manta.

“The Manta Fire Department reported that, at 6:00 am, the body of a missing person was found lifeless in the Barbasquillo sector,” the agency announced on social media.

Peru closed 91 of its 121 ports until Jan. 1, the National Emergency Operations Center wrote on social media.

The municipality of Callao, close to the capital Lima and the location of the country’s main port, closed several beaches and barred tourist and fishing boats from venturing out.

“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.

“They are waves generated by a persistent wind on the surface of the ocean that is approaching our coasts,” he said.

Dozens of small fishing boats and businesses near the sea were affected, according to images broadcast on television and social networks.