Ecuadorian authorities said a magnitude 6.5 earthquake was recorded at 12:12 pm local time (6:12 pm Belgian time) in the Ecuadorian city of Barao, about 140 kilometers from the port of Guayaquil.
The United States Institute of Seismology (USGS) rated the magnitude at 6.8 on the Richter scale, and the Peruvian seismological authority announced a magnitude of 7.0.
One person died in Cuenca (south) and three in the surrounding area when the building collapsed, according to Ecuador’s Crisis Management Office.
In Peru, Hernando Tavera, director of the National Center for Seismology, told RPP radio that no casualties were recorded and “there was no serious damage.”
Aftershocks were felt, and the Ecuadorian Navy’s Marine Antarctic Research Institute assured that the tremor “does not meet the conditions necessary to generate a tsunami” in the Pacific.
Peru and Ecuador are located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a major seismic belt that stretches along the west coast of the Americas.
