A strong earthquake shook the region around Ecuador’s second-largest city on Saturday, killing at least four people, damaging homes and buildings, and sending panicked residents into the streets.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 in the country’s coastal Guayas region. It was centred about 80 kilometres south of Guayaquil, which anchors a metro area of over 3 million people.
President Guillermo Lasso tweeted a message asking residents to remain calm.
The South American country’s emergency response agency, the Risk Management Secretariat, reported one person died in the Andean community of Cuenca. The victim was a passenger in a vehicle trapped under the rubble of a house. Three other people died in the coastal state of El Oro, the agency reported.
In Guayaquil, about 270 kilometres southwest of the capital, Quito, authorities reported cracks on buildings and homes, as well as some collapsed walls. Authorities ordered the closure of three vehicular tunnels.
Videos shared on social media show people gathered on the streets of Guayaquil and nearby communities. People reported objects falling inside their homes.
One video posted online showed three anchors of a show dart from their studio desk as the set shook. They initially tried to shake it off as a minor quake but soon fled off camera. One anchor indicated the show would go on a commercial break, while another repeated, “My God, my God.”
A pier sank in the city of Machala. The earthquake was also felt in northern Peru.
One month after two deadly earthquakes devastated parts of Turkey and Syria, the rubble is being cleared but recovery seems a long way off for hundreds of thousands of people who’ve been displaced.
For all the latest World News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
