ESMERALDAS, Ecuador: More than 500 people were evacuated from their homes in northern Ecuador on Sunday after heavy rains generated floods, President Guillermo Lasso said, adding that no one had been reported dead or missing.

Dozens of residents climbed onto the roofs or balconies of their homes to protect themselves from the rising waters, according to images released by the Ecuadoran Defense Ministry.

Rain had fallen for 12 hours without interruption, causing six rivers to overflow, Lasso said.

“The priority is to save their lives. Let’s protect them! We have already rescued 500 people and the work continues,” he wrote on Twitter.

Authorities evacuated about 500 people by boat and another 30 by helicopter, the country’s Risk Management Secretariat said.

About 11,750 people were affected by the floods and 16 lost their homes in the province of Esmeraldas, which borders Colombia.

Classes were suspended in several towns where schools were damaged. Five health centers were also affected.

Between January and May, 36 people have been killed and more than 99,000 affected across Ecuador.

In March, a landslide caused by heavy rains in the Andean town of Alausi buried dozens of houses, killing about 60 people.

Rescuers are still working to recover the bodies of 13 people who went missing in that disaster.