Earthquake leaves 20 injured and buildings destroyed in Ecuador

At least twenty people were injured and 135 homes were destroyed by an earthquake of magnitude 6.3 that shook on Friday (25) the province of Emeralds, in the northwest of, near the border with the. Two roads and a bridge also recorded damage. President Daniel Noboa had shelters install and distribute humanitarian aid kits. “The government is with you, and that’s how we will move on,” wrote the president at X, who traveled on Thursday (24) to the funeral of in Rome.

I have arranged the immediate deployment of all ministers in the province of Esmeraldas to coordinate the installation of shelters, delivery of humanitarian aid kits and assistance in everything that our people need.

The Government is with you, and so we will leave …

– Daniel Noble Azin (@danielnoboaok)

In the streets, the residents were avoiding the rubble, others tried to remove a wall that detached from a building and fell on the street. The earthquake, which was recorded 8.4 kilometers from the city of Esmeraldas, occurred at a depth of 35 kilometers around 6:45 am (8:45 am in Brasilia). Authorities ruled out a tsunami alert.

The earthquake was felt in ten of the country’s 24 provinces, including Manabí, Los Ríos, Guayas and Pichincha, according to SNGR. At the time of the tremor “The light fell, the internet fell and we had to go out to the backyards,” said former indigenous presidential candidate Yaku Pérez, who was in emeralds to present a book.

Twenty minutes after the first earthquake, the Geophysical Institute of Ecuador reported another 4.1 magnitude tremor in the southwestern Guayas province of Guayas at a depth of 86 kilometers. According to the Geophysical Institute, this earthquake has nothing to do with that of emeralds.

Last week, Ecuador marked the 2016 earthquake anniversary that reached the coastal of Manabí and Emeralds. With a magnitude of 7.8, he left 673 dead and about 6,300 injured.

*With information from AFP

Posted by Nátaly Tenório