7.8-Magnitude Earthquake Struck Ecuador
A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Ecuador’s central coast on Saturday, 16 April 2016 at 6.58 pm local time. The earthquake was centered approximately 27 kilometres (17 miles) from the town of Muisne, located 170 kilometres (110 miles) from the capital of Quito with the depth of 19 kilometres. Muisne is the populated area of fishing ports and popular with tourists.
2. The earthquake caused several buildings including bridge collapsed in the city of Guayaguil and damaged the control tower of the Manta Airport. The earthquake also cut off the electricity as well as cell phone coverage in the affected areas . The Vice President of Ecuador, H.E. Jorge David Glas Espinel, who is currently the acting President of Ecuador informed that 238 people were killed in the strongest earthquake to hit Ecuador since 1979. The dead were located in the cities of Manta, Guayaquil and Portoviejo.
3. Several aftershocks as strong as 5.6 on the Richter scale were recorded after the first earthquake. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned that hazardous tsunami waves reaching 0.3 to 1 meter above tide level were possible for some coastal areas of Ecuador. In response to the earthquake, a state emergency was declared throughout the country and 10,000 military troops and 3,500 police have been despatched to the affected areas to assist in rescue and relief effort.
4. President Rafael Correa in his statement called on Ecuadoreans to stay calm and to keep their spirit up during this calamity while his Government continues to monitor and assessing the situation and providing assistances.
5. In the meantime, the Government of Ecuador informed that their oil plants were not affected by the quake but they have suspended operations at Esmeraldas refinery as a precaution.
As of Sunday, 17/4/2016, 2.56pm(Santiago, Chile time)