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Ecuador Earthquake Kills at Least 28 Ecuador Earthquake Kills at Least 28
(about 1 hour later)
QUITO, Ecuador — A 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook the central coast of Ecuador on Saturday, damaging buildings and rattling homes as far away as the capital city of Quito. Vice President Jorge Glas says at least 28 people were killed in the quake. QUITO, Ecuador — A 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook the central coast of Ecuador on Saturday, killing at least 28 people, officials and news reports said. The effects could be felt as far away as the capital, Quito, which lies some 105 miles from the epicenter.
The United States Geological Survey said the shallow quake was centered 16 miles southeast of Muisne, Ecuador, in a sparsely populated area of fishing ports that is popular with tourists. Authorities said they expected the death toll to rise.
In the southern port city of Guayaquil, an overpass collapsed on top of a car and the roof of a shopping center buckled. In Manta, the airport was closed after the control tower suffered severe damage. The quake was centered 16 miles southeast of Muisne, Ecuador, the United States Geological Survey said.
President Rafael Correa called on citizens to show strength while he and authorities monitor events. Officials declared a nationwide state of exception, which gives the government expanded authority, and a state of emergency in six of the country’s 24 provinces. Deaths were reported in the northern provinces of Esmeraldas, Manabí and Guayas, along the northern border with Colombia.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said hazardous tsunami waves are possible for some coastal areas. But the government’s natural disaster agency did not issue a tsunami alert. Among the dead was a minor who fell down the stairs in a mall in Guayaquil, and another who died after the collapse of a bridge in the city, according to reports from the television station Teleamazonas.
In Quito, about 105 miles from the quake’s epicenter, the shaking was felt for about 40 seconds and residents there fled to the streets in fear. The quake appeared to have knocked out electricity and cellphone coverage in several neighborhoods around the capital. Adriana Villacís, a 40-year-old nurse, was with her husband and 4-year-old son at a supermarket about 30 minutes from the capital of Quito when, she said, she began to see groceries fall to the floor.
"I’m in a state of panic,” said Zoila Villena, one of the many residents of Quito that congregated in the streets. “My building moved a lot and things fell to the floor. Lots of neighbors were screaming and kids crying." “The first thing I did was protect my son and look for the exit, but a part of the roof fell and I was frozen,” she said. “Thank God we weren’t physically harmed, but the shock caused my child to vomit.”
In the Pedernales district, near the epicenter, a number of homes fell, causing damage to parked cars.
On Avenue Mariscal Sucre in northern Quito, sign posts fell, causing panic among drivers. Jorge Espinel decided to park his car to avoid an accident.
“It was terrible, such a shock, I don’t have words for what I felt,” he said.
In Quito, where the shaking was reportedly felt for about 40 seconds and residents took to the streets in fear, the quake appeared to have knocked out electricity and cellphone coverage in several neighborhoods.
The city’s mayor, Mauricio Rodas, said there had been rockslides on roads leading to the capital and reports that the walls of houses had fallen. But, he said, there had been no reports of fatalities or injuries in the capital.
In the southern port city of Guayaquil, an overpass collapsed on top of a car and the roof of a shopping center buckled. In Manta, the airport was closed after the control tower was severely damage.
President Rafael Correa urged citizens to show strength while he and the authorities monitored events.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that the tsunami threat from the earthquake had mostly passed.
The quake had a depth of nearly 12 miles.The quake had a depth of nearly 12 miles.
Several aftershocks, some as strong as magnitude 5.6, continued in the hour after the first quake, which occurred around nightfall. The quake occurred around nightfall. Several aftershocks, some as strong as magnitude 5.6, continued after the initial quake.
Guayaquil’s international airport was also closed because of a failed communications system.