Death toll from earthquake in Ecuador climbs to 15, 1,469 affected

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - The death toll from a magnitude 6.7 earthquake that struck parts of Ecuador and Peru last Saturday rose to 15, officials said.

Ecuador’s Secretariat of Risk Management confirmed that another 489 were injured and 1,469 affected. Authorities reported material damage to homes, health centers and educational facilities.

The earthquake occurred on March 18 at 12.12 p.m. local time (1712GMT) in Guayas province on the coast of Ecuador. Its epicenter was in Balao, a small town of 28,000 people located about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Ecuador's second-largest city, Guayaquil. It was felt with intensity in at least 13 of Ecuador's 24 provinces and in northern Peru.

Ecuador’s government confirmed that 12 people died in the southern province of El Oro and two in the highlands state of Azuay. In Peru, a 14-year-old girl died in Tumbes, a border province, when her home collapsed on top of her.

Several roads have been blocked by landslides that have been exacerbated by heavy rains in some of the regions, authorities said.

Ecuador is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plate movements are frequent, so it is often subject to strong seismic activity.

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the country in April 2016, which left more than 600 dead and wiped out entire neighborhoods, is still present in the memories of Ecuadorians.