At least twelve dead, one injured and damage to buildings caused by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake that shook southern Ecuador and reached northern Peru.
At least four dead and damage to buildings caused by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake that shook southern Ecuador and caught up with his neighbor Peruaccording to a preliminary balance of authorities.
The tremor occurred at 12 local hours and had its epicenter in the Ecuadorian municipality of Balaoabout 140 kilometers from the port of Guayaquil, and at a depth of 44 kilometersEcuadorian authorities reported. Seismological authorities of Peru reported that the tremor arrived in that country with a magnitude of 7.0.
The movement was strongly felt in other cities such as Quito, Manabí and Manta, according to users on social networks. Images of a collapsed building, while rescuers try to lift the rubble, circulate in local media. The registry of victims reached 14 people: 11 in the province of El Oro and two in the province of Azua. The fall of a tower and the collapse of a house were the causes of the deaths.
The President of Ecuador, William Lasso, assured that he will take “immediate actions” and made a “call for calm and information through official channels” in a Twitter message. “The institutions were activated immediately and contingency teams are mobilizing to offer all their support to those who have been affected,” she added.
The General Secretariat of Communication of the Presidency of Ecuador also said that three facilities of the state Petroecuador (Pascuales Terminal, LNG plant and Terminal 3 Bocas) preventively suspended their activities and were evacuated. “The hydrocarbons sector has no news for the moment,” he said. also some educational units and health centers they were affected. Some localities suffered some alterations in basic services, while there were landslides on some roads.
The seismic wave was also felt in the north and central coast of Perualthough with less intensity. Hernando Taverahead of the National Seismological Center of Peru, assured RPP radio that “there is no significant damage to the structure or people” in that country.
The Oceanographic and Antarctic Institute of the Ecuadorian Navy assured that the tremor “does not meet the necessary conditions to generate a tsunami” in the Pacific.
Source: Ambito
