Two more tremors strike earthquake-hit Ecuador

Two earthquakes have hit Ecuador in the same region where more than 650 people were killed last month. The latest tremors, measuring 6.7 and 6.8 in magnitude according to the US Geological Survey, killed one person and caused light damage. Electricity was cut in some coastal areas and people were sent running into the streets as far away as the highland capital of Quito, witnesses said. President Rafael Correa said the epicentre of the first quake overnight was the fishing village of Mompiche on the Pacific coast, about 368 km (229 miles) from Quito.

We lament the death, which was caused either directly or indirectly by the earthquake, of a senior citizen in the city of Tosagua.

President Rafael Correa, referring to a city in the coastal province of Manabi

He said the tremors caused light injuries due to people bumping into things as they ran out of buildings, adding that the person died in circumstances that are not clear at this stage. There was no tsunami warning. The second tremor struck just before midday. The 16 April earthquake, Ecuador’s worst in nearly 70 years, flattened buildings along the coast. As well as the fatalities, the tremor also injured more than 6,000 people, made nearly 29,000 homeless, and caused an estimated $2bn (£1.3bn) in damage, according to the government’s latest tally. Mr Correa described Wednesday’s first tremor as another aftershock from the April quake.

Despite the alarm and the scare and the possibility of new damage … it’s normal, you expect aftershocks for two months after.

President Rafael Correa

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