Ecudor earthquakeDaniela padilla

7.8

The 2016 Ecuador earthquake occurred on April 16 at 18:58 ECT with a moment magnitude of 7.8 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). The very large thrust earthquake was centered approximately 27 km (17 mi) from the towns of Muisne and Pedernales in a sparsely populated part of the country, and 170 km (110 mi) from the capital Quito,] where it was felt strongly.[5] Widespread damage was caused, with structures hundreds of kilometres from the epicenter collapsing. At least 654 people were killed and 16,600 people injured President Rafael Correa declared a state of emergency; 13,500 military personnel and police officers were dispatched for recovery operations.

Ecuador lies above the destructive plate boundary where the Nazca Plate is subducting beneath the South American Plate. The convergence rate between the plates in Ecuador is 61 millimetres (2.4 in) per year. The depth, location and focal mechanism of the earthquake are all consistent with rupture along the plate interface in the form of a megathrust earthquake. A major earthquake in 1906 ruptured the plate interface for at least 400 km immediately northeast of the 2016 event.

At 18:58 ECT on April 16, a 7.8 Mw earthquake struck the coast of Ecuador approximately 27 km (17 mi) south-southeast of Muisne, in the province of Esmeraldas, at a depth of 19.2 km (11.9 mi). Tremors were felt in neighboring Colombia and Peru; a clinic in Cali, Colombia, was evacuated as a precautionary measure. A tsunami alert was issued by the Pacif ic Tsunami Warning Center for Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Fiji, Panama, and Peru.This is the largest earthquake to strike Ecuador since the 1979 Tumaco earthquake. According to Mayor Gabriel Alcivar, much of the town of Pedernales, about 35 km to the south-southwest of the earthquake's epicenter, was leveled. In Guayaquil—approximately 300 km (190 mi) from the epicenter—an overpass collapsed on a car, killing the driver.[10] In Manta the control tower of the airport was severely damaged; an Air Force officer was injured and the airport closed. Six homes collapsed and many others lost power in the nation's capital city of Quito.

The earthquake was presaged by a magnitude 4.8 foreshock eleven minutes before the main quake struck, and followed by over fifty-five aftershocks in the first twenty-four hours.

At least 654 people were killed and at least 16,600 others were injured in the earthquake. It was the worst natural disaster to hit Ecuador since the 1949 Ambato earthquake. At least 41 fatalities occurred in Manta, Portoviejo, and Guayaquil, all of which are located hundreds of kilometers from the epicenter. President Rafael Correa stated that the reconstruction would cost "billions of dollars."

In Colombia, near the city of Cali, one miner died as a result of the earthquake, becoming the only reported death outside of Ecuador.