On the morning of this Saturday, March 18, several Internet users recorded on their social networks the moment in which the tremor began in Ecuador. Some shared videos from the center of Guayaquil and others showed the damage that was generated in the historic center of Cuenca, where a wall collapsed on passers-by and cars. In addition, they reported the collapse of a house and the fall of debris in this same city.
As reported by the Geophysical Institute of this country, an earthquake of magnitude 6.5 was registered around 12:12 (local time) that had Balao (Guaya) as its epicenter, in the southwest of Ecuador. The entity assured that it had a depth of 44 kilometers.
After this first earthquake, an aftershock of magnitude 4.8 was recorded at a depth of 24 kilometers, according to the institute. According to the Risk Management Secretariat, affectations are reported in the cantonal center of Cuenca, where a fatality occurred due to the collapse of a house.
It should be remembered that this country 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.
The report of the Geophysical Institute of Peru (IGP), for its part, indicated that the earthquake had a magnitude of 7 and a depth of 78 kilometers. In addition, it established its epicenter 85 kilometers northeast of the province of Zarumilla, on the border with Ecuador.
After the first earthquake and the aftershock, the Directorate of Hydrography and Navigation assured on its Twitter account that a tsunami alert has not been generated on the coasts of the Pacific Ocean.
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