The number of injured in the magnitude 6.5 earthquake in Ecuador has risen to 446

The number of injured in the magnitude 6.5 earthquake that occurred on Saturday at guayas province, in the coastal area of ​​Ecuador, which left 14 dead.

According to the government, twelve people died in the province of El Oro, on the border with Peru, and two in Azuay, also located in the south of the country.

He Ministry of Transport and Public Works predicts this Sunday that in the next few hours he will declare a state of emergency in the province of Azuay, since the earthquake caused thirteen landslides on the road Cuenca-Molleturo-El Empalme, and nine on the Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje highway. Official reports in Ecuador indicate that 180 homes were affected, 84 destroyed, 80 educational units, as well as 22 public assets, 32 private assets, 33 health centers and one private asset destroyed, such as 5 bridges.

After the magnitude 6.5 earthquake that occurred at noon this Saturday, which was felt in 13 of the country’s 24 provinces, 4 more of magnitude 4.8 and 3.7 and 2 of 3.5 were registered, with the epicenter in the extreme northeast. the island of Puná in the Gulf of Guayaquil (southwest).

Among the damage to the infrastructure, there were, among other things, the collapse of facades, broken glass and cracks in the walls.

Also, the collapse of the old cabotage pier, damage to the YAT Club Machal, and downed telephone lines and power outages in several cantons of El Oro province were recorded.

The public company Petroecuador reported this Sunday that damage to part of the infrastructure was recorded at the Amistad field facilities, located in the Gulf of Guayaquil.

“Heater failure and disabled, pressurized piping and MBD-2030 separator clogged,” as stated in the press release.

Because of these damages, they estimate the production impact to be “one million cubic feet of gas. To date, the Amistad field reports total production of more than 20.5 million cubic feet per day.”

For its part, the city council of Guayaquil, the capital of the province of Guayas, specified on Saturday that there was a partial structural collapse and 29 architectural (non-structural) collapses in the urban area; while in the rural area: 1 structural collapse in Puna and 15 architectural collapses (11 in Puna and 4 in Tenguel) and one minor injury were registered.

During installation National Emergency Operations Committee (COE), President Lasso reported that his government was activated with an “urgent nature” to provide the necessary attention to those affected by the earthquake.

Fire belt
Ecuador is in Pacific Rim 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.

In addition to Ecuador, the Belt, which has the shape of a horseshoe, also includes other countries such as Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, United States and Canada.

On April 16, Ecuador will remember the seventh anniversary of one of the most destructive earthquakes in recent history, with a magnitude of 7.8.

This natural phenomenon that occurred on April 16, 2016 left more than 670 dead, thousands affected, as well as millions in material losses.