Ecuador capital struck by magnitude 4.2 quake

4 months ago 19

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake shook Ecuador’s capital Quito on Monday, cutting off power in some neighborhoods but causing no immediate casualties or significant damage, the country’s geophysics agency announced.

The epicenter of the quake, which struck at a depth of nine kilometers (5.6 miles), was located 8.49 km from Quito, the geophysics institute said on social media network X.

Residents ran out of their homes into the streets when the tremor struck just after midnight local time, footage released by Ecuador’s emergency services department showed.

Some neighborhoods of the capital Quito were plunged into an electricity blackout, Quito mayor Pabel Munoz said in a post on X.

“The airport, metro, landfills, water production plants and landfills” suffered no significant damage, he added.

Quito residents said on social media that they felt strong shaking and some reported cracked walls.

The quake was also felt strongly in at least two provinces neighboring Pichincha, where the capital is located, according to the Geophysical Institute.

Fifteen people were killed when a strong 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit Ecuador’s southwestern border region with Peru in March 2023.