Quito, (EFE).- At least one person has died in Ecuador after the earthquake of magnitude 6.5 on the Richter scale that was registered this Saturday in the province of Guayas and was also felt in northern Peru, which has caused several material damages.
According to the Geophysical Institute of the National Polytechnic School, the earthquake occurred at 12:11 local time (17:12 GMT) at 2.78 degrees south latitude and 79.93 degrees west longitude.
The tremor occurred 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.
The Risk Management Secretariat indicated that damages are reported in the cantonal center of the Andean city of Cuenca, where the facade of a house collapsed on a vehicle, of which one person is reported dead.
Magnitude 7 in Peruvian territory
The strong earthquake that occurred at noon this Saturday with an epicenter in Ecuador reached a magnitude 7 in Peruvian territory, according to the report by the Geophysical Institute of Peru (IGP), which added that ten minutes later another earthquake of magnitude 4 occurred. 1 in the same area.
In Ecuador, the magnitude of the first movement was established at 6.5 and that of the second at 4.8, by the Geophysical Institute of the National Polytechnic School of that country.
The IGP reported, for its part, that the first earthquake was felt at 12:12 p.m. (17:12 GMT) and established its epicenter 85 kilometers northeast of the Tumbesian province of Zarumilla, on the border with Ecuador, and at a depth of 78 kilometers.
Fire belt
Ecuador is located in the Pacific Belt or Ring of Fire, which concentrates some of the most important subduction zones (collapse of tectonic plates) in the world and is the scene of strong seismic activity.
In addition to Ecuador, the Belt, which is shaped like a horseshoe, includes other countries such as Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, the United States, and Canada.
On April 16, Ecuador will remember the seventh anniversary of one of the most destructive earthquakes in its recent history, of magnitude 7.8.
This natural phenomenon, which occurred on April 16, 2016, left more than 670 dead, thousands affected, as well as material losses of millions.
