SITUATION
The 6.5-magnitude earthquake was recorded at 12:15 p.m. on March 18, 2023. The epicenter was in Balao, in Guayas. President Guillermo Lasso assured that 12 people have died. According to the Geophysical Institute of the National Polytechnic School, the earthquake occurred at 12:11 a.m. 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, which has a population of almost 30,000.
At least twelve people have died in Ecuador after the earthquake of magnitude 6.5 on the Richter scale that was registered on March 18 in the province of Guayas and was also felt in northern Peru, which has caused various damages materials. The President of the Republic, Guillermo Lasso, confirmed that 11 people died in El Oro and one in Azuay. After the first earthquake, another one of magnitude 4.8 occurred at a depth of 24 kilometers, according to the Institute. The Secretariat for Risk Management pointed out that affectations are reported in the Cuenca center, where the facade of a house collapsed on a vehicle, of which a deceased person is reported.
The quake was felt strongly, even in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, in the Andean region of the country. The Geophysical Institute received reports from the population that felt the earthquake in the province of El Oro, on the border with Peru, and also in Loja, as well as on the Manabí coast and in Zamora Chinchipe in the Amazon.
Identified fatality in Cuenca. At around 3:20 p.m., the Cuenca authorities confirmed that the person who died trapped in his car after the midday earthquake is Jhon González, former leader of the merchants in the Plaza de San Francisco. In Machala, three people died after the collapse of several houses in the center of the city. At the moment, rescuers are working under the rubble to remove the bodies and help possible survivors. /scoops ec