QUITO, ECUADOR: Ecuador’s presidency said on Saturday that at least 12 people were killed in the quake that shook Ecuador and Peru.
The presidency said in a social media message, ” 12 deaths are reported in El Oro and Azuay provinces of the country,”.
Earlier, officials said in a statement that at least four persons died after a magnitude 6.8 quake hit southern Ecuador.
The US Geological Survey said that the earthquake hit near the southern town of Baláo and was 65 km deep. CNN reported that one person died in Cuenca when a wall collapsed onto his car. Officials said that three people were reportedly killed in Jambelí Island when a tower came down.
Officials say 4 died after quake hit southern Ecuador
The US Geological Survey gave the earthquake an “orange alert,” adding “significant casualties are likely and the calamity is possibly widespread.”
Notable quake, preliminary info: M 6.7 – 6 km NNE of Baláo, Ecuador https://t.co/w577YHB2DP
— USGS Earthquakes (@USGS_Quakes) March 18, 2023
Earlier, local officials said that a strong quake with its epicenter off Ecuador struck northern Peru and Ecuador Saturday. The National Seismological Center of Peru said that the 7.0 magnitude quake hit at 12:12 local time, with its epicenter 85 km northeast of the Peruvian city of Zarumilla, close to the border with Ecuador.
The chief of Peru’s seismic institute told the media that the epicenter of the earthquake was off the coast of Ecuador’s main city Guayaquil. He said that as far as they know, there is no heavy damage to buildings and people.
