A 6.5-magnitude earthquake shook Ecuador this Saturday and left at least four people deadas indicated by the Secretary of Risks of the Government of this country.
According to the information released by the state media, three people from the El Oro province have died so far and another one in the Azuay province, in addition to registering several injuries.
Total, the earthquake was felt in thirteen provinces throughout the countryalthough the central damage deepened in Guayas, Azuay, El Oro and Chimborazo, mainly in cities such as Cuenca, Machala and Guayaquil.
Its epicenter was about 6 kilometers north-northeast of the town of Baláo, a canton located in the province of Guayas, recorded at a depth of 66.4 kilometers. “The tremor was felt strongly at 12:12 local time, for a few seconds,” the DPA news agency reported.
In the port city of Guayaquil, people had to take to the streets in the face of the strong movement. People who were in commercial premises, entities, medical clinics and shopping centers had to leave their places.
The cities of the southern zone such as Cuenca, in the Andean mountains and in Azogues, also strongly felt the seismic movement.
⭕️ According to the Monitoring Unit of @Riesgos_Ecthe 6.5 magnitude earthquake, registered 29.12 km from Balao in the province of #Guayaswas felt in 13 provinces nationwide.
✅ Remember to inform yourself by official sources.
We share the report ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/AwQkDE3NHC
– Ecuador Risks (@Riesgos_Ec) March 18, 2023
Also in Quito, the Ecuadorian capital, the movement was felt slightly, while in Cuenca there are reports of a collapsed structure on Sucre and Tarqui streets, in the center. Several sectors of the city were left without electricity service after the strong earthquake.
In the provinces of El Oro, in the south of the country, and Los Ríos, in the coastal region, the earthquake was felt strongly, while in Esmeraldas, in the north, it was somewhat mild, according to preliminary reports from the IG.
“From the cities of Guayaquil, Loja, Ambato, Zamora, (in the south of the Amazon area), Cuenca or Manabí, strong tremors were also reported,” reported the morning newspaper ‘El Universo’ from Guayaquil.