An earthquake whose epicenter is located in the south of Ecuador, and which shook Peru, caused the death of at least four people on Saturday and damaged several buildings, according to an initial assessment of the authorities of the two countries. .
The magnitude 6.5 tremor was recorded at 12:12 p.m. local time (1712 GMT) in the Ecuadorian municipality of Balao, some 140 kilometers from the port of Guayaquil, and at a depth of 44 kilometers, Ecuadorian authorities said.
The American Seismological Institute (USGS) evaluated the magnitude at 6.8 on the Richter scale, the Peruvian seismological authorities announced it at 7.0.
According to the Ecuadorian Secretariat for Risk Management, one person died in Cuenca (south) and three others in the surrounding area when a building collapsed.
In Peru, the director of the National Seismological Center, Hernando Tavera, told RPP radio that no casualties had been recorded and that "there is (was) no significant damage".
Aftershocks were felt and the Ecuadorian Navy's Oceanographic and Antarctic Institute assured that the tremor "does not meet the conditions necessary to generate a tsunami" in the Pacific.
Peru and Ecuador are located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a major seismic zone that stretches along the western coast of the American continent.
18/03/2023 22:35:45 - Guayaquil (Ecuador) (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
