Powerful 7.8 Earthquake Rocks Ecuador’s Coast -- Hundreds Are Dead

So sad  My thoughts are with everyone.

A big thank you to cccmedia keeping us informed here regularly.

We hope the expats in the community are ok too.

Does anyone know if expats were checked on (apart here)?

Here in Montreal Canada, it is unclear if the earthquake affected city of the Quito.

"A mother and her 12-year-old son from Quebec, Canada have been identified as the two Canadians who were among the hundreds of people killed in a massive earthquake in Ecuador Saturday night."
http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/mother-son- … -1.2862684

Thank you for the post & info.  I will follow up on it .

Hi gardner1! Thank you for the info.  We are getting very little coverage of the news in the US.  This will help lots.

Everyone is donating in beautiful Ecuador. It's actually effortless as there are many places to donate. At Megamaxi on 6 of December, there are lines of people with carts for donation. Popular items are water, beans, tuna, and rice, and actually some of those items are running low on the shelves. You can drop off your cart/donations right there at the entrance/exit where they sort things for you. I believe this is the case for all Supermaxis/Megamaxi throughout the country. Very proud to be in Ecuador among this solidarity.

On another note, there are not as many usual smiles in Quito, the only one I've seen in two days is from our concierge when I asked him if the building was Earthquake-Resistant, to which he replied "no", with a soft smile. Oh well.

Thank you for the post. The people sound so generous and compassionate.

The list of missing expats and tourists is growing at Ecuador Emergency list on Facebook.  Because not everyone is on Facebook and this is a crisis, we are now posting the list on the site latinamericacurrentevents.com / This way anyone with internet can check on relatives or friends who have been listed. If they want to add a name, location, or status they will use an email on the site which is listed. We hope this will facilitate the transmission of information for anyone impacted by this disaster. http://latinamericacurrentevents.com/ec … sts/35938/

A list of additional organizations that are accepting donations for earthquake relief has been posted at the following thread....

https://www.cuencahighlife.com/help-ear … ef-effort/

Every day I read an updated report at msn.com with video coverage and the numbers keep climbing. It is ineffably tragic. I pray for all of you there.  Mother Nature has been wreaking so much havoc this past week (Japan, Houston flooding and now this). Be well. Thank you for the fundraising info.

[b]Donating to help people along the coast who need food, water and supplies now.  Many people are starting to run out of food and water and other necessary supplies on the coast.  The smaller communities around and including Bahia, San Vicente, Briceno, and Canoa are in very serious need.  An attorney who works with expats in Manta and Bahia has started a donation site to help people in these areas.  I know him personally, he is Ecuadorian and I trust that he will ensure that the money will be used to help the people who most need it.  Here is the link if you would like donate or send the link to friends and family who may be moved to assist.  Thank you for kindness.  https://www.gofundme.com/ecuaassist

Hello, Bahia Girl,
Thank you for that info. It was very disturbing to hear about the looting and thieves stopping aid trucks attempting to provide staples to those in need. Sorry, I know I'm repeating myself.  I hope this is not a common phenomenon.  May assistance reach all of those folks in need. We will reach out. God bless.
PS

We just had a powerful aftershock, just before 4 a.m local time, a preliminary 6.1 magnitude. Nerve racking.

Prayers to everyone!

I know many people are very scared.  We read today elsewhere that supply trucks are starting to arrive in Bahia.  I hope this is true.  Everyone is helping each other and staying strong, but outside help has been much needed. I hear that the military have done a good job of keeping the streets safe.  Hopefully the quakes will stop so people can begin to feel safe again.

I also wish the same things as do you.  My thoughts and prayers to everyone.  Hoping that you and your family are safe.

There wasn't an aftershock last night, well not a noticeable one, so let's hope it continues. To date we had the mega earthquake on Saturday, followed by big aftershocks on Sunday evening, Tuesday afternoon, and of course the 6.1 (USGS)/6.2(Geofisico)Wednesday, early morning.

The closure of many entertainment venues including cinemas, pubs, nightclubs has been extended until Saturday April 23rd. Source El Comercio

I just received an email from the attorney who has helped organize the relief fund that I mentioned in a previous post (https://www.gofundme.com/ecuaassist) a convoy with doctors and construction specialists and medical and other supplies is on the way to the coast.  Thank you to all who have contributed to the effort.  The people of the coast are very grateful for all the help they can get.

God bless. We are thinking of all of you and giving you support. I hope it reaches everyone in need. Take care.
PS

Back to back strong aftershocks, M6 & M6.1, about 1.5 hours ago. Some neighbors went outside. We're told it's normal. Keep strong.


Magnitude Strength: Instituto Geofísico (Twitter)

I am so sorry that all of you have to go this.

Be safe and God Bless.

We put it into perspective and the more educated in this matter we become the better we are able to deal with these unnerving aftershocks. The earth, to this day, has not stopped shaking around where the big earthquake occurred. To date there have been 697 aftershocks, and according to the Instituto Geofisico it is normal for these strong aftershocks to occur, and in terms of magnitude they may go as high as 6.8.

Dealing with that is another matter because lives and routines are disrupted. 

http://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/re … anabi.html

Bahia Caraquez one of the most idyllic locations on the coast of Ecuador and very popular with expats is being evacuated as of late last night. There were several large aftershocks of 6.0 and 5.8  Unconfirmed reports that center may be in rubble. Again that is unconfirmed by authority sources. http://latinamericacurrentevents.com/ec … ast/36009/

crowdpub wrote:

Bahia Caraquez one of the most idyllic locations on the coast of Ecuador and very popular with expats is being evacuated as of late last night. There were several large aftershocks of 6.0 and 5.8  Unconfirmed reports that center may be in rubble. Again that is unconfirmed by authority sources. http://latinamericacurrentevents.com/ec … ast/36009/

I saw a 10 minute video of Bahia de Caraquez after the big earthquake, and although there was considerable damage, I highly doubt that that center has turned to rubble. The prez was actually there last night when the successive aftershocks occurred and he tweeted about it.

Video of Bahia de Caraquez in aftermath of Saurday's 7.8 earthquake:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0OR87fZ27U

Notice to Quito residents: In light of the new aftershocks, the mayor's office extended the closure of cinemas and public events (football matches, concerts) to noon Sunday April 24.

Pubs, nightclubs, and discos are closed/open at the discretion of the establishment's management.

http://prensa.quito.gob.ec/Noticias/new … ril--18811

Thank you, V.

We simply can't have unconfirmed "reports" from unstated sources on this earthquake thread.  AKA rumors.

This thread is now being closely monitored for such and the Home Office will be alerted to posts containing rumors about supposed death and destruction in any named communities.

cccmedia in Quito

Thank you.  Be safe.

Bahía de Caráquez or Bay of Caráquez (pronounced bah-EE-ah day kah-RAH-kez) is a city located on a sandy coastal peninsula that had a pre-earthquake population of 20,000 and had become a favored home to increasingly larger numbers of North American Expats in recent years.  The city has been a regional center in its area of the northern coast of Ecuador.

This weekend, the Cuenca Highlife website quotes a national-police captain in Bahía as saying that “with each earthquake, more houses are falling down.”

The captain is correctly referring to the hundreds of so-called aftershocks as “earthquakes.”  He said some of the ones that have hit Bahía have been “strong” and “frightening.”

Ecuadorian-army trucks offered to evacuate Bahía residents on Wednesday night after three 6.0-plus quakes struck the city within hours.

An official of Ecuador's Geophysical Institute says the aftershocks or quakes will persist for weeks, maybe months, decreasing in their intensity over time.

Source: www.cuencahighlife.com on the site's current welcome page

From the New Yorker magazine:

Seventy percent of the buildings in Pedernales, Ecuador (population 20,000 per Wikipedia) were destroyed in the April 16th earthquake.  Pedernales is 40 miles from the epicenter.

An even higher percentage of buildings were destroyed in other coastal towns.

Portoviejo is the capital of devastated Manabí province, and is about half an hour's drive inland from the Pacific coast.  According to Wikipedia, it's pre-quake population was about 250,000, making it the sixth largest city in Ecuador.  It is about 120 miles from the epicenter.

According to the New Yorker magazine, the mayor of Portoviejo says that over 100 residents of the city were killed by the earthquake.

source:  www.newyorker.com

One week after the earthquake, Ecuador's Secretariat for Risk Management provides these numbers....

12,492 injured

10,000 buildings destroyed or so severely damaged that they are uninhabitable

----

The number of missing persons from the quake varies from source to source and there is no reliable number at present.

-----

According to the Pan American Health Organization, 20,000 people in Ecuador are living in shelters and thousands more are sleeping outside their homes.


    The above numbers were posted at www.cuencahighlife.com

Yesterday while walking around Carolina I was under the impression that Quito was out and about. Tonight however proved that wrong, Quito very much remains subdued. Mariscal was limited, other places outside Mariscal too, the same with popular fast food joints, Dominoes on Gaspar de Villaroel which is normally busy on weekends was almost empty.

The good news is Ecuador had only had 20 aftershocks the past 24hrs from the area of the big earthquake according to Instituto Geofiscio, and that is indeed good news considering we've been averaging around 100+ per day prior to today. Additionally, most of them are magnitude 3 or 4 and fairly insignificant or not enough to feel in Quito.

cccmedia wrote:

An official of Ecuador's Geophysical Institute says the aftershocks or quakes will persist for weeks, maybe months, decreasing in their intensity over time.

I've been reading about this. I believe they call it exponential decline/exponential decay. The prez the other day on twitter said that an expert from Instituto Geofiscio said we can expect as many as ten magnitude 6 aftershocks. So far we've had about four or five magnitude 6 aftershocks. Hopefully the intensity continues to decline over time without us having to endure M 6 aftershocks.

vsimple wrote:

Quito very much remains subdued, Mariscal was limited... same with popular fast food joints....

All activity suddenly stopped at Megamtaxi Six on Saturday evening as the Ecuadorian national hymn came over the loudspeaker.  For several minutes, the shoppers and employees observed a moment of reflection in honoring the memory of the fallen.

cccmedia in Quito

The exponential decline of aftershocks seems to hold true with Ecuador's big earthquake. The aftershocks are not only decreasing (30 past 24hrs), but are mostly M.3 with some M.4, and only one M.5 as of the last 24 hours. This is definitely reassuring, although future distribution of intensity of aftershocks might not be as orderly but nonetheless this quake is thus far adhering to exponential decline rate.

It's been 4 days straight now without frightening aftershocks. It feels great, we live on the 10th floor of a high-rise, so you can imagine the swaying from up there. My neighbors are not as traumatized, neither am I as I'm not feeling the building/floor moving when it's not moving.

Hope it continues this way.

There's nothing better than a mug of coffee in the morning in Quito after an aftershock-free night.




Source of aftershock count and magnitude: Instituto Geofisico - Twitter

El Presidente is going after general contractors whose allegedly shoddy work caused hundreds to die in building collapses and other earthquake destruction at the coast.

Rafael Correa tweeted that the Ecuadorian government will prosecute general contractors whose crews performed substandard construction work.  He said more stringent construction standards will be established before re-building proceeds.

The government says sand from nearby beaches was mixed with concrete in the construction of some buildings.  In some cases, this allegedly caused the decomposition of the concrete and related destruction of steel rebar.

El Presidente announced he will ask Ecuador's attorney general to investigate construction perpetrators.  As stated earlier on this thread, the government says about 10,000 buildings collapsed in the April 16 earthquake and aftershocks or were damaged too much to be habitable.

Source: www.cuencahighlife.com

Published on Gringo Tree April 26, two  gringos  drive to to the earthquake zone with supplies and to observe conditions in the area. With photos. Their report:

DISASTER RELIEF : FIRST HAND OBSERVATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

https://www.gringotree.com/blog/disaste … ggestions/

This is more like it, losing count of the last time we felt a significant aftershock. Today, only 16 aftershocks, and the last one occurring about 14 hours ago, with the strongest being only M.4

HOPE YOU CAN RELAX  SOON.


BE SAFE.

GOD BLESS

Don't let earthquakes put you off coming to lovely Ecuador. Daily life is back to normal apart from a few parts of the North West coast of Ecuador (the worst hit area). The chances of you being hurt in an earthquake in Ecuador are very remote. The coast is more prone to earthquakes, so if you live in a modern building somewhere inland it's extremely unlikely that an earthquake will get you.
If you're looking for an ideal country to retire to (cheap, relatively safe, no religious terrorism, nice people, wonderful variety of geography, climates, things to see and do) Ecuador is just about the best there is.
Keep well, Russell

I'm looking to retire in Las Olas. I'm actually flying out to Manta and staying in Bahia. Looking to buy a condo at Laa Olas development. I flying out there next weekend  Greg