President Guillermo Lasso visited the areas most affected by the earthquake, in which at least 14 people died in Ecuador and one in Peru
MADRID, 19 March (EUROPA PRESS) –
At least 14 people were killed and more than 300 injured when an earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale struck the Pacific coast of Ecuador near the Peruvian border this Saturday.
The Ecuadorian Government Risk Management Secretariat has so far confirmed eleven deaths in El Oro province and two in Azuay province. The Ministry of Public Health reported that 381 people have been treated in health centers so far, with the highest number of injured in the canton of El Pasaje in El Oro.
The Secretariat also reported that 90 houses were damaged, 44 more were destroyed, and 31 health centers and 50 education centers were affected, as well as a bridge and various public and private buildings.
On the island of Puná, off Guayaquil, the Ecuadorian Electricity Authority reported a power outage as a damaged house risks collapsing in the main lines of the island’s thermal power plant. The Fire Brigade and Electricity Authority requested a power cut for 2 hours during which the power plant was in operation so that the work could be carried out in the region and that it would not be damaged further.
Some highways, including the highway connecting Cuenca and Molleturo, became unusable due to landslides as a result of the earthquake, and the Government has said it will take more than twelve hours to clear them.
GUILLERMO LASSO VISITED THE AFFECTED AREAS
The country’s president, Guillermo Lasso, sent a message of support and solidarity to the families of the deceased and visited the injured at the IESS-Machala Hospital. He also met with the city’s mayor to confirm his government’s support and the provision of country resources.
Via a video on his Twitter account, he sent a message of support to everyone affected, informing him that he was on his way to the city of Cuenca, which together with Machala and Guayaquil make up the country’s most damaged towns.
The earthquake was felt in thirteen provinces of the country, although damage was centered in Guayas, Azuay, El Oro and Chimborazo.
PERU REPORTS ONE DEATH VICTIM AND MANY INJURY
Peru’s National Emergency Operations Center (COEN) confirmed that a four-year-old girl died in the earthquake, which also affected parts of the country.
The girl was referred to Tumbes Regional Hospital after she was injured when part of her home’s roof fell off, but eventually died this Friday.
They also reported that at least 29 people were injured and 73 others were affected by the earthquake at the moment. Four houses were destroyed, five still standing but uninhabitable and 72 houses damaged. In addition, two health centers were damaged.
Defense Minister Jorge Chavez; Housing, Construction and Sanitation, Hania Pérez de Cuéllar; Rosa Bertha Gutiérrez Palomino, Minister of Health, and Alberto Otárola, President of the Council of Ministers.
The damaged areas in Peru were Tumbes, San Jacinto, San Juan de La Virgen, La Cruz, Zorritos, Zarumilla, Papayal, Matapalo and Aguas Verdes.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) determined that the epicenter of the earthquake was 6 kilometers north-northeast of the town of Baláo and 66.4 kilometers deep. The Ecuadorian Geophysical Institute has confirmed that there have been seven aftershocks since the earthquake so far.
Source: Noti Merica
