A powerful 6.3 earthquake shook the northwestern Ecuador province of Esmeraldas on Friday morning and injured at least 20 people, the government has said.
The tremor struck at 6:44 am local time in the city of Esmeraldas and had a depth of 14.3 miles, according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Center.
Following the destruction that ensued, a 3.8 aftershock was registered about 25 minutes after the initial earthquake, Ecuador’s Geophysical Institute said.
Its epicenter was located 33.7 miles from San Lorenzo, also in the province of Esmeraldas.
In the wake of the tremors, the Navy’s Oceanographic Institute ruled out the possibility of a tsunami.
However, by then, several businesses and homes were already severely damaged as images of the devastation were rapidly shared on social media.
At least 540 people were displaced from their residences in four cantons in Esmeraldas.
The National Electricity Corporation reported power outages across multiple neighborhoods.
A damaged house is pictured after the earthquake that struck the city of Esmeraldas, Ecuador on Friday. At least 20 people were injured, the government said.
A pedestrian walks past a building that was severely damaged by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck the northwestern Ecuador city of Esmeraldas on Friday at 6:44 am
‘Our technicians, supported by specialized vehicles, continue working to normalize the medium-voltage supply in the pending sectors,’ National Electricity Corporation said in a statement.
State oil company Petroecuador said in a statement that operations at the Esmeraldas refinery and SOTE pipeline were suspended as a preventative measure following the quake, without detailing the potential impact on production.
‘The structural condition of the pipeline has been reviewed as part of a rigorous control of the entire operational network,’ Petroecuador said.
President Daniel Noboa said in a post on X that ministers in the province of Esmeraldas to set up shelters, deliver humanitarian aid kits and ‘assist with everything our people need.’
Mónica Segovia, director of the Geophysical Institute, told Ecuavisa television that the earthquake was caused by seismic activity on the Nazca plate.
The tectonic plate is located along the eastern Pacific Ocean basin off the coast of South America.
‘It penetrates beneath the continent and at some point this movement is more abrupt and instantaneous, precisely where seismic waves are produced,’ Segovia said.
The Geophysical Institute also detected a magnitude 4.1 earthquake in the province of Guayas, 218 miles south of Esmeraldas.
The tremor had a depth of 53.4 miles.
The signs of a pharmacy were destroyed after a magnitude 6.3 earthquake rattled Esmeraldas, a city on the northwestern coast of Ecuador, on Friday mornign
At least 135 home were damaged following Friday morning’s earthquake in Esmeraldas, Ecuador
A family stands in front a damaged home after Friday morning’s magnitude 6.3 earthquake in Esmeraldas, Ecuador
A police officer and construction worker remove debris from a street in Esmeraldas, Ecuador on Friday after an early morning magnitude 6.3 earthquake
‘People were very confused at first, where the earthquake was,’ Segovia said.
‘In fact, they were two different earthquakes.’
