A magnitude 6 earthquake recorded in the Pacific of Ecuador, on the edge of the border with Colombia, left at least one dead, one injured and a hundred buildings affected, including two medical centers, authorities reported on Sunday.
The Risk Management Service reported on Twitter that as a result of the tremor, which occurred around midnight on Saturday, there was “1 person injured and 1 person died (due to cardiac arrest)”.
He added that 356 people were affected, two houses were destroyed and another 92 buildings were damaged.
Risk Management had previously reported that 30 homes and other buildings suffered damage, including two medical centers and the facilities of the Integrated Security Service ECU911.
The epicenter of the earthquake, which was recorded around 23h28 local on Saturday (04H28 GMT on Sunday), was located in the Pacific, 12 km off the coast of the port of Esmeraldas, northwest and capital of the province of the same name (bordering Colombia), reported the Geophysical Institute (IG) of Quito.
The natural phenomenon resulted in 15 aftershocks with magnitude of up to 5.1, which lasted until early Sunday, he added.
It also caused the temporary interruption of electricity service in Esmeraldas and in the nearby Atacames spa, according to Risk Management.
The earthquake was felt in another 11 of the country's 24 provinces.
President Guillermo Lasso reported on Twitter that Esmeraldas Governor Tania Obando activated the provincial Emergency Operations Committee (COE) “to assess damages and future risks.”
The IG indicated that the magnitude 6 earthquake is associated with the contact zone of the Nazca and South American plates, a process that generates the largest earthquakes in Ecuador, such as that of April 2016.
Six years ago, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the provinces of Manabi and neighboring Esmeraldas, leaving 673 dead and some 6,300 injured and injured. Losses from this earthquake amounted to more than 3 billion dollars.
(With information from AFP)
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