6.7 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Western Ecuador
An earthquake with an initial magnitude of 6.7 struck western Ecuador Wednesday morning, the U.S. Geographical Survey said.
The Latin American country has been recently hit by a series of devastating quakes that have left several dead.
Western Ecuador. Image: USGS
This latest strike, which occurred in the region bounded by the towns of Rosa Zarate and Muisne, had its epicenter 36 miles south of Esmeraldas at a depth of about seven miles.
It struck the same Western region of the country that was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake last month – Ecuador’s worst in nearly seven decades – which killed more than 650 people and injured around 16,600.
Prelim M6.7 earthquake near the coast of Ecuador May-18 07:57 UTC, updates https://t.co/Z97W3OdNun
— USGS Big Quakes (@USGSBigQuakes) May 18, 2016
Post-quake chaos in #Ecuador: 238 dead & 1,500 injured (GRAPHIC) https://t.co/vDQkMUJtLX pic.twitter.com/pyt8XtR6Vm
— RT (@RT_com) April 17, 2016
Further tremors were experienced for several weeks after the previous quake, which destroyed 7,000 buildings and left more than 25,000 people living in shelters as coastal towns were ravaged.
However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami was not expected.
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