Mw6.7 Ecuador and Peru Earthquake Causes Significant Damage

A strong Mw6.7 earthquake in southern Ecuador and northern Peru resulted in at least 16 fatalities and many people being trapped in collapsed houses. The earthquake occurred on March 18, 2023, at a depth of 80 km (50 miles), while the epicenter was near Balao, about 80km (50 miles) from Ecuador's second-largest city, Guayaquil, where about three million people live.

Details are as follows:

• Time: 18-Mar-2023 at 17:12:55 (UTC+01:00)
            18-Mar-2023 at 12:12:55 local time
• Depth: 75 km (46.6 miles)
• Location: 2.75 S; 79.78 W
• Provider: Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC)

Picture 1: Location of Ecuador and Peru earthquake.

The worst affected was the southern province of El Oro, where at least 12 people died, authorities reported. However, many buildings, including schools and health institutions, got damaged in several cities, several roads were blocked by landslides, and many people got damaged. Reports say that, for example, a museum on a pier in the coastal area of El Oro province, was almost completely submerged after it collapsed into the sea. Furthermore, authorities ordered the closure of three vehicular tunnels in Guayaquil, which anchors a metro area of over 3 million people.

This is the strongest earthquake to hit Ecuador since 2016, when nearly 700 people died and thousands got injured.

Overall, Ecuador is particularly prone to earthquakes. In 2016, an earthquake with an epicenter farther north on the Pacific Coast in a more sparsely populated country area killed more than 600 people. In 2019, a powerful magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck southern Ecuador, close to the country's border with Peru.