Emergency numbers and help in Ecuador

911

• 911 is the single emergency number, run by the national ECU 911 service, and reaches police, ambulance, fire and civil protection.
• It is free and works from any mobile, including one with no credit.
• Operators speak Spanish. English is not guaranteed. If you are at a hotel, have the desk call.
• Give the province and the nearest landmark, not just a street name.

Medical

• Call your insurer as early as you can. They will direct you to a clinic they deal with and authorise payment.
• For anything not immediately urgent, take a taxi to a private clinic rather than waiting for an ambulance.
• In the Galapagos and the Amazon, your operator or lodge is the emergency service. Evacuation to Quito or Guayaquil is the plan for anything serious, and it is not quick.
• Keep a photograph of your insurance policy and the 24-hour number in your phone and printed.

After a crime

• Report it to the police and get the written denuncia. No insurer will pay without it, and it takes time.
• The Fiscalia handles formal complaints and the tourist police in Quito and Guayaquil deal with visitors specifically.
• A lost passport means your embassy in Quito, with the police report first.
• If you are drugged or robbed, get medical attention even if you feel fine. Scopolamine leaves you with no memory of consenting to anything.

If you are detained

• Ask to contact your embassy and do not sign a Spanish document you cannot read.
• Drug offences carry long sentences and pre-trial detention is measured in months.
• Never carry a package for anyone, and pack your own bags.

Natural events

• Ecuador is seismically active and earthquakes happen. Know the evacuation route from your hotel.
• Volcanic ash closes Quito airport occasionally, with little warning.
• Landslides close mountain roads in the wet season.
• Coastal tsunami warnings are broadcast and marked with evacuation signs; follow them immediately rather than watching the sea.