Huge waves kill at least one person in Ecuador and close ports in Peru

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

Many beaches along Peru’s central and northern coasts have been closed to prevent endangering lives, local authorities said.

According to images in local media, the waves swamped jetties and public spaces there and sent residents fleeing to higher ground.

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

“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.

Peru had closed 91 of its 121 ports by January 1, the National Emergency Operations Center wrote on social media.

The municipality of Callao, located near the capital Lima and the country’s main port, closed several beaches and banned tourist and fishing boats from leaving.

“These waves are generated thousands of kilometers from Peru, off the coast of the United States,” Navy Capt. Enrique Varea told Channel N television.

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

According to images broadcast on television and social networks, dozens of small fishing boats and shops near the sea were affected.