MADRID, 18 March (EUROPA PRESS) –
At least 12 people died in an earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale that struck the Pacific coast of Ecuador this Saturday.
The Ecuadorian Government’s Risk Management Secretariat has confirmed that so far, eleven people have died in El Oro province and one more in Azuay province. There are also several injuries.
The earthquake was felt in thirteen provinces across the country, although the damage was centered in Guayas, Azuay, El Oro and Chimborazo, especially in cities such as Cuenca, Machala and Guayaquil.
According to the videos published on social networks, some buildings collapsed in the city of Cuenca and several areas in the city of Guayaquil were left without electricity, according to the news of the newspaper ‘El Universo’.
In Cuenca’s Historic Center, the front of a house crashed onto a vehicle, killing its driver, the first confirmed death by the earthquake.
In the state of El Oro, especially in the canton of Machala, a two-story house sank. Two people were stranded and three more died.
The landslide was felt strongly in cities such as Guayaquil, Loja, Ambato, Zamora, Cuenca, Azogues or Coca. Earthquake felt lightly in Quito. Authorities ruled out the possibility of a tsunami occurring because the necessary conditions were not met.
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.
Ecuador’s National Polytechnic School Geophysics Institute (IG) confirmed an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 to 29.12 kilometers in Balao, Guayas province. The shaking was recorded at 12:12 local time (18:12 Spanish peninsula time).
The same body previously reported a 4.8 magnitude tremor with the epicenter at a distance of 29.26 kilometers from the town of Balao and at a depth of 24 kilometers.
STATE REACTION
The President of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, announced that the Government has been activated on an emergency basis to provide the necessary attention to the people affected by the earthquake.
“There are injured people who are being treated urgently in hospitals. There are houses destroyed in El Oro and Azuay province,” Lasso said.
Additionally, Lasso noted that Ecuador’s Ministry of Urban Development and Housing has been activated to carry out inspections in the affected area, and that “all mechanisms for assistance and support to the affected families” will be implemented.
Source: Noti Merica
