A major M7.5 earthquake hit 115km ESE of Palora, Ecuador at 10:17 (UTC) on February 22, 2019 and at a depth of 132 km. The quake was felt over very large distances – from Ecuador to Peru and Colombia. No reports of injuries, death or heavy damage, yet. Thankfully, the epicenter of the quake was very deep!
A Major 7.7 #earthquake #Terremoto #Temblor near Palora #Ecuador right now ? pic.twitter.com/PSLaF8Dkjb
— Teacher From PR ???? (@MaestroDEPR) February 22, 2019
The quake was first measured at M7.6 before being downgraded to M7.5:
@reportesolar Terremoto en la frontera de Perú y Ecuador 7.6 pic.twitter.com/YxPlMi89Xu
— Servicios Jurídicos (@sjamexico) February 22, 2019
3 major aftershocks have been reported within 30 minutes af the first quake:
Hasta el momento: El Instituto Geofísico del Ecuador reporta cuatro sismos durante la madrugada de este viernes 22 de febrero.
— Ecuador Play (@EcuadorPlay) February 22, 2019
– 05h17 – 7.7 Macas
– 05h20 – 6.0 Macas
– 05h40 – 5.9 Guayaquil
– 05h54 – 3.6 Macas pic.twitter.com/fYrVoJnh9H
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) has not issued any alerts.
Tsunami Info Stmt: M7.7 near the Peru-Ecuador border reg 0217PST Feb 22: Tsunami NOT expected; CA,OR,WA,BC,and AK
— NWS Tsunami Alerts (@NWS_NTWC) February 22, 2019
#NTWC
Former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa was among the first to speak out after the announcements and explained on Twitter that the quake hit in an “apparently” depopulated area . “I hope it does not have serious consequences,” he wrote.
Es un sismo de casi 8 en la escala Richter. Es decir, es un terremoto. Felizmente es profundo y, aparentemente, en zona despoblada. Ojalá no tenga consecuencias graves.
— Rafael Correa (@MashiRafael) February 22, 2019
Un abrazo a Morona Santiago y a la Patria entera. pic.twitter.com/oO6ZeK13oq
Here other videos captured at the exact moment the Ecuador terremoto hit:
Se reporta en las calles Sucre y Machala daños estructurales en vivienda luego de los sismos registrado está madrugada #Ecuador #Guayaquil via @Cupsfire_gyepic.twitter.com/px06Pgn8F7
— Astronomía ECU (@AstronomiaEcu) February 22, 2019
The earthquake even shook southern Colombia:
Here a map of the powerful earthquake in Ecuador on February 22, 2019
