A strong earthquake in Ecuador of magnitude 7 was also felt in Peru: at least one dead

The earthquake occurred at 12:11 local time on the border of the two countries. The area is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire.

A strong earthquake was registered this Saturday at noon with an epicenter on the border of Ecuador and Peru. It reached a magnitude 7 and caused the death of at least one person.

According to the Geophysical Institute of the National Polytechnic School, the earthquake occurred at 12:11 local time at a depth of 44 kilometers, and 29.12 kilometers from Balao (Guayas), in southwestern Ecuador.

After the first earthquake, another one of magnitude 4.8 occurred at a depth of 24 kilometers, according to the Institute.

Due to the movement of the earth, Ecuadorian government sources indicated that some inconveniences are reported in the center of the Andean city of Cuenca, where the facade of a house collapsed on a vehicle in which a man was found who died.

The earthquake left damage in southern Ecuador. AP Photo

The earthquake was also felt strongly in Peru, mainly in the city of Tumbes, where some material damage was reported, such as the fall of a watchtower of an old military barracks, but no personal damage.

There, citizens 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.

The provincial mayor of Zarumilla, Christian Aguayo, told the RPP radio station that this has been “the strongest tremor I have been able to witness in my entire life.”

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 structure that collapsed and fell on the driver of a vehicle. Photo Reuters.

After the strong movements in the north of Peru, the Directorate of Hydrography and Navigation assured on Twitter that a tsunami alert has not been generated on the coasts of the Pacific Ocean.

The Civil Defense Institute (Indeci) also did not report preliminary damage, but it did detail a series of security measures that the population must follow in these emergencies.

He added that through the COEN, he coordinates with regional and local authorities, monitors the situation and urges the local emergency operations centers to be kept active.

Peru and Ecuador are located in the area called the Pacific Ring of Fire, where approximately 85% of the world’s seismic activity is recorded.

With information from EFE

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