The earthquake occurred at noon and had a second aftershock of almost 5 degrees of magnitudeso both countries began with the tasks of rescue and containment of the local population.
7 magnitude earthquake affected Peru and Ecuador
Peru and Ecuador They are located in the area called the Pacific Ring of Fire, where approximately 85% of the world’s seismic activity is recorded.
From the government of Ecuador there was a report of 14 deaths, 12 in the province of El Oro and two in the province of Azuay.
While the little girl who died was a native of Tombes, the Peruvian city most affected by land movement, on the border with Ecuador.
The tremor was recorded this Saturday at 12 noon (local time) and had its epicenter in the Ecuadorian municipality of Balao, about 140 kilometers from the port of Guayaquil, and at a depth of 44 kilometers, reported authorities.
In the south of the Ecuadorian country, it was felt strongly and people took to the streets in panic, while some walls collapsed in cities like Cuenca, one of the most affected.
After the first earthquake, another one of magnitude 4.8 occurred at a depth of 24 kilometers, according to local authorities.
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victim report
The tragic scene also generated a dramatic postcard of the historic center of Cuenca, where there was damage to some old houses, reported journalists from the AFP agency.
Ecuadorian President William Lasso He traveled to El Oro, where he visited the injured in a hospital, and then he will go to Azuay. “I have just finished the visit to the city of Machala (…) I have ratified the support of the government, the availability of resources,” Lasso said in a video posted on Twitter.
“It is a relatively high magnitude for what we have in the country. In the area of the Gulf of Guayaquil we have been having more or less from 2017 onwards around two earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 5.0 per year,” Mario said. Ruiz, director of the Ecuadorian Geophysical Institute in an interview with FM Mundo radio.
devastating earthquake
According to the Ecuadorian Risk Management Secretariat, in Cuenca the façade of a house collapsed on a vehicle and left “a deceased person.” Nearby, in the province of El Oro, three deaths were recorded from the fall of a tower.
The earthquake was also felt strongly in Perumainly in the city of Tumbes, where 12 houses were reported affected, 4 disabled and another 2 health centers affected.
Later, the National Emergency Operations Center (COEN) reported the death of the little girl: “The death of a 4-year-old minor is confirmed, who was transferred to the Regional Hospital of Tumbes, after being injured as a result of the fall of part of a roof of his house”.
In that city, north of Perucitizens quickly took to the streets as a security measure, while other people reported on social networks that the earthquake was also felt in the regions of La Libertad and Áncash, more than 500 kilometers south of Tumbes.
In this regard, the National Emergency Operations Center (COEN) reported that first response units together with local authorities began the review of vulnerable areas, without reporting, so far, structural damage or damage to the population.
The moment of the earthquake in social networks
Several social media users uploaded photos and videos of the tragic event. In the last few hours, images of the moment in various situations went viral, from shopping malls, the street and even on the air of an Ecuadorian television newscast, which had to cut off the transmission due to the earthquake.
Source: Ambito
